


Chosen One

by PokerFace84



Category: Lucifer (TV)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-07-30
Updated: 2016-11-07
Packaged: 2018-07-28 06:00:12
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 17
Words: 116,110
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7627813
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PokerFace84/pseuds/PokerFace84
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Takes place after season 1 final. Lucifer's mother is out of Hell, hiding and plotting... something. Meanwhile a new very odd case turns up, a handsome new detective is hired by the police department and Trixie gets into real troubles going beyond this world. And then there are these stupid feelings... Can one Devil solve all this and live to tell the tale?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Thank You, Doctor

**Author's Note:**

> Hello. This is my first fiction (in English). Sorry for my grammar... First chapter is short, just to get from the episode 1x13 to my own story. I hope you'll enjoy it. 
> 
> Disclaimer: I don't own the Lucifer TV show or any of the characters introduced by the show. The same apply to original comic books. I make no money by writing this. I do it just for my own amusement and hopefully for the amusement of readers.

She was going to be late.

She never, ever did _that_.

Yet she _was_ going to be late. The traffic was much worse than she'd anticipated.

She hated being late. What was the point of having an appointment at a certain hour when you were not there on time? 

But all things considered, it really wasn't her fault. She'd had to drive Trixie to school, find a decent lawyer for Dan, which neither she or he could afford, and – don't forget the most important thing – pick up her mother at the airport. She had decided to help in 'these terribly hard times' and couldn't have just taken a taxi because 'they're so filthy' (the cars and apparently their drivers as well). The real reason of course had been to get all the information ASAP so she could have given Chloe a very helpful advise, “Now that Dan is going to spend the rest of your youth in jail, you should snatch that handsome Lucifer fellow before some younger and prettier girl jumps into his bed.” Chloe had briefly considered to explain that the jumping thing probably happened every night but... why bother?

Oh no, she was going to be at least ten minutes late. Damn it! And this was important. The future of her and Lucifer working together (or not working together) depended on the result. At least it was with Dr. Martin. Chloe didn't know how he'd done it, but she was 100 % sure, it was Lucifer's doing. She was really glad for that. She couldn't imagine what would happen if they got some other doctor. Some male, not gay doctor who wouldn't fall for Lucifer and couldn't be persuaded that Lucifer's claim being the Devil was just a kind of a bizarre self protection, not a personality disorder with dangerous side effects.

Seven minutes. OK, it would have to do.

She wondered whether Lucifer was already there. It had been ten days since the Malcolm's debacle and in all that time she'd seen him just once – in the police station, when they had been brought in for questioning. She had been actually amazed that he had skipped the part of him 'dying and then coming back'. All he had said was that he'd been shot, just grazed slightly. And he'd said that probably just to explain the pond of his blood embellishing a significant part of the hangar floor. Yet anyone with a brain knew that losing so much blood meant certain death even for a giant. Still, the lieutenant had accepted Lucifer's explanation with a dreamy smile. How embarrassing for womankind that Lucifer could turn their brains into mush with few sly words and a shiny smile.

Lucifer was already there when Chloe entered Dr. Martin's office. He was looking immaculate as ever in his dark Armani, yet she could tell that something was off. His smile was too wide, his eyes sparkled a little too much and his 'hello, Detective' sounded too cheery.

“Hello, Dr. Martin, Lucifer.” She slid to the couch next to him, careful to leave enough space between them. “I'm so sorry I'm late. I really -” Linda lifted her hand to stop her.

“No need to apologize. I understand you have a lot on your plate right now. Shall we start the session?”

“Start the session?” Lucifer repeated, his forehead wrinkled. “Linda, Darling, you misunderstood. All we need is your signature on that paper over there so we can be on our merry way to catch bad guys.”

“No, Lucifer. What you need is to process your emotions concerning the last case. I've read the report. What you both experienced must have been very traumatic. I'm not signing any papers until I know that you're both emotionally fit to return to the field. So let's just focus on the therapy, alright?”

Lucifer sighed dramatically, looking annoyed. “Alright then. If you insist.”

“Thank you,” Linda replied. “Now, I want you to know that everything said here stays here. I'm not reporting any details of our session to the police department. The only thing they will get is my recommendation. Either for you to return back to work immediately or to postpone the return until you're alright. Let's begin with you telling me how you feel today. Lucifer?”

Lucifer snorted. “How I feel is annoyed! But I guess telling you that is pointless since you're not going to help me with that! I mean we should be out there solving crimes, not here, talking about the solved ones.”

“OK. Anything else you're feeling?”

“A slight pressure in my trousers. Care to lend me a helping hand?”

Chloe groaned in disgust while Linda's eyes involuntarily slid lower Lucifer's torso before she caught herself. “And how is that connected to your emotions?”

Lucifer straightened a little and glanced at Chloe. “It isn't.”

“Hm. So let's just focus on things that are. Chloe, what about you?”

Chloe coughed and shifted on the couch nervously. “I feel... tired. No, _exhausted_ actually. Physically _and_ emotionally. I've been on the leave for these past ten days and yet I can't seem to get any rest. I mean my mom has just arrived -”

“Mama Decker is back in town?!" Lucifer cut in, his expression lightening. "Why didn't you say anything, detective?”

“I just brought her home from the airport, Lucifer. She's actually the reason I was late.”

“So why didn't you bring her here instead?”

“What? My mother? You remember my mother, Lucifer?”

“Yes, of course. How could I possibly forget Penelope Decker? Her mum is Penelope Decker,” Lucifer clarified for Linda.

“Oh? Really?” the doctor chirped. “I'd be _so_ interested to meet her but it wouldn't be right to have her at this session.”

“Maybe not right, but certainly more fun.”

Chloe had almost forgotten how annoying Lucifer could be. “Can we please stop talking about my mother? She's not related to the case in any way.”

The doctor agreed. “Yes, let's talk about Dan.”

“Detective Douche?!” Lucifer yelled. “Why? Who cares about him?”

“I do,” Chloe replied without hesitation.

“What? After all he's done? You realize it's his fault Malcolm abducted your spawn, tried to frame me, and then shot me to death? I mean if Detective Douche had aimed better when he'd shot him at Palmetto, nothing of that would have happened.”

“He's the father of my child!”

“And whose fault is that?”

Chloe's jaw dropped. “OK. First of all, Trixie is _not_ a result of some fault. She is my daughter. She is wonderful and I love her. And second, Dan did some really bad things, yes, but he regrets them. I mean he turned himself in to save your ass, Lucifer!”

“Oh, isn't he the saint? A little bit of a puppy face here and there and all is forgotten and forgiven?”

“No, nothing's forgotten or forgiven. I'm just trying to work things out, so Trixie can, in some way, have a father!”

“Have you tried the internet? I heard there's a lot of applicants for the job. Well, as a part-time job, at least. The main job is to shag the lady of course.”

Chloe really wanted to hit him now more than ever. What was wrong with him today?

“I think that's enough,” Linda cut in. She'd thought to let them talk things out but this was getting quickly out of hand. “Lucifer, why are you so upset about it?”

“Wha...? Didn't you hear her?” he pointed at Chloe. “She's actually defending Dan the Douche! Like he deserves that! I tell you what he deserves – a soap stuffed in his mouth, nails driven into his ears and bleach in his eyes!”

Linda ignored the last sentence. After all she was used to Lucifer's weird attitude to justice and punishment. “Yes, she is defending him. And she's explained why. Lucifer, you must realize that Dan was a very important part of Chloe's life for a very long time. And he is still a very important part of Trixie's life. You can't just throw away all the emotions that go with that.”

Lucifer sighed and waved his hand dismissively. “You humans and your bloody emotions. I don't understand how you can live with them for so long.”

“Wait,” Chloe frowned. “Is that why you've been avoiding me these past ten days? Because of Dan?”

“What? No, I haven't been avoiding you! I've been busy. I have things to do. Important things.” Wrong thing to say... Chloe narrowed her eyes in suspicion.

“What things?”

“Things that don't concern you. Family things. Father's will and all that nonsense.”

“Wait a moment,” Linda interrupted. “You mean your father? I thought you weren't on speaking terms.”

“Well, we're not. But I offered him a deal and he accepted.”

Linda considered his words. “Lucifer, I think this is a huge step for you – to voluntarily contact your father after all that happened between the two of you?”

“Voluntarily?” Lucifer grimaced. “Like I had a bloody choice!”

Linda frowned in concern. “You didn't have a choice?”

“Of course, I didn't! I was lying on a bloody ground, bleeding to bloody death. What choice did I have?”

Linda peeked in the papers on her desk. “Lucifer, you are exaggerating. According to the report the bullet barely hit you. There was no rea-”

“Well, you can't believe everything the police says in these reports. We all know how sloppy they tend to be.”

Chloe glared at him open-mouthed. Sometimes she thought she knew the real man beneath all the glamor and temper but in moments like this she doubted there was anything else but the glamor and the temper. “So what was it?” she asked the irritating man.

“Beg your pardon?”

“The deal you made with your father. What was it?” Lucifer sat still for a change. Very still. And that of course piqued her curiosity. Because when a man who can't be still or quiet for a second silently stares at you with a marble expression and something like apprehension in his eyes for about ten seconds, then it must be something worth knowing.

Linda noticed too, of course. “If you don't want to answer, Lucifer, you don't have to.”

“No, no, no, let him answer. What deal made the Devil with God?”

Lucifer blinked. He glanced at Linda and then returned his gaze back to Chloe. This was bad. How had he gotten into this? He knew he couldn't tell the truth, although he had no idea why. But he never lied and besides this was Chloe. He had promised her he would never lie to her. He could choose not to answer but he had a feeling that it would be even worse than tell her the truth – his detective would never stop asking and probably suspect him of something nefarious. So there was only one thing he could do – tell only a part of the truth.

“Well, since I was dying and was helpless to do anything about it, I offered my Dad my services in exchange for his protection. He agreed and after I died he brought me back.”

Chloe studied her partner for a moment. “Hmm, OK.”

“You believe me?” Lucifer asked incredulously and then he cringed at his own stupidity. When you're not telling the whole truth, don't ask people whether they believe you.

But Chloe surprised him. “I think _you_ believe it.”

“And what do _you_ believe?” Linda asked her.

Chloe stared into Lucifer's eyes for a few seconds and then said very slowly, “Sometimes, I'm not sure what to believe.” The moment she finished she noticed those beautiful dark eyes fill with insecurity. “But I know that whatever happens I can always count on Lucifer to have my back.”

The angel in question beamed like a beacon, almost all his very white teeth visible in one of the broadest smiles Chloe had ever seen.

“That's right,” Lucifer agreed happily and turned to Linda. “Because we're a team. And a good one if I may say so!”

Linda sighed. Their hour was almost up and she needed to decide what to do with them. They had issues, God knew. Especially Lucifer. But whatever issues they had they proved one thing – they were better off together than alone. They also needed something close to normalcy to overcome the incident and for them part of normalcy was working cases. And God knew the streets of L.A. were much safer with them out there. “OK. I'm not convinced that you are actually fit to go back to work but I think that any other alternative would be worse. So you are clear to go. I'll send the papers today to the precinct and you can go back to field tomorrow.”

“Thank you,” both of them said at in unison, obviously pleased with the result and, after saying their good-byes, they left the good doctor to her paperwork.

 

“Alright. I'll see you at the next case,” Lucifer said when they got to the parking lot, ready to leave.

“Hm, yes." Chloe stared at him with worry. He seemed in a hurry, more than usual, anyway. Something was definitely off with him today. "I'll see you soon." She then realized that she'd never had the opportunity to thank him for saving her and Trixie. "And thank you,” she added hastily as Lucifer started to turn to his car. He stopped and looked back at her.

“You're welcome,” Lucifer said tentatively as he wasn't sure what she was thanking him for.

Chloe touched his arm briefly before she left him and Lucifer felt the now familiar rush that appeared from time to time in the most unexpected moments. Not unpleasant, yet disturbing in a peculiar way. Linda had said it was a result of doing a good thing but he started to doubt her explanation. He hadn't done anything good now, had he? He would have to ask the doctor about it the next time...


	2. Trixie the Biter

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Trixie has a minor problem... and also meet a new detective...

Most people would probably say that having your mother to help with your problems is actually helpful. Well, it wasn't Chloe's case. Her mother really tried to get Trixie out of bed and prepared for school, but in her language it meant to spend about half an hour choosing the right clothes and about twenty minutes putting on makeup. On Trixie. Because apparently eight years old girls needed the attention of eight years old boys desperately.

“Mom! Why does Trixie look like a Russian ballerina?”

“Honey, the look is the most important aspect of a woman's life. It's the thing that get you a man.”

“Trixie goes to school to get some knowledge, not a man. And besides she is way too young to have a boyfriend.”

“A girl is never too young to have a boyfriend! Or do you want her to end up like you? Single at thirty five?”

When Chloe was a child, she sometimes thought her mother was a harpy. It's uncanny like these small things from your childhood suddenly pop up in your head...

“No, but I don't want her to end up pregnant at fifteen either. Trixie, go wash your face and change into something less colorful! Mom, can you please just make her a breakfast?”

Penelope didn't look pleased. “Oh, I'm surprised you trust me with something as important as a meal for my granddaughter. Aren't you afraid I could – I don't know – make her something too healthy?”

Chloe just turned her eyes heavenwards and silently asked for more patience. It felt like having two children instead of one.

So it really wasn't her fault that her mood was somehow poor, when she entered the police station. She secretly hoped some poor soul had been murdered because if she was to stay the whole day at the station she would go crazy. Not that she wished for someone to die...

“Decker!” The lieutenant stood in her doorway with a somber expression. Chloe changed her direction and went straight to her boss's office. Inside stood a man, rather tall man, rather well built man and rather handsome too. He could be her age, maybe a little younger, it was hard to say. His hair and eyes were brown, actually the same shade brown. Not the boring shade though, more like chestnut shade. And why was she staring at him, for God's sake?

“Decker, this is Robin Dubois, our new detective.”

“Nice to meet you,” the man said with the southern accent and offered her his hand.

“Dubois have just moved here from New Orleans. I was lucky to snatch him before any other precinct could. God knows we need more people around here. I was hoping you could show him around?”

Chloe cringed. Right, she was the guilty one, the reason they were understaffed. After all she shot one dirty cop and sent the other to prison making the lieutenant look quite incompetent... Like she was the one responsible for the actions of those two men...

“Lieutenant, I thought Dr. Martin-”

“Yes, yes,” the lieutenant stop her mid-sentence. “You are clear to work the field again. But I thought one more day off would be good for you. Don't you agree?”

No, she didn't but the lieutenant wasn't really asking. “OK. No problem,” she heard herself say.

Robin followed her outside and around. She introduced him to everyone and indicated the two empty desks for him to choose.

“Listen,” Robin started, “maybe we could get out of here and you could show me the city? This is my third day here and I would really like to know some interesting places... and people.”

Chloe hesitated for a moment. This wasn't probably what the lieutenant meant, but screw her. She could use the outing. “Yeah, why not.”

They got into her car and Chloe just rode, not really thinking where to.

“Wow, this is much better,” Robin said the moment they departed the parking lot.

“Hm?”

“I mean the atmosphere in there? It was like the air was boiling or something.”

Chloe smiled. “You have no idea!”

“Can you tell me? Lieutenant Monroe only said that you've caught some dirty cops.”

“Yes. One of them was my husband.” And then Chloe told him the whole sordid story.

“Sweet Jesus... wow. And I thought New Orleans was crazy. With thousands of tourists hungry for voodoo and witchcraft.”

Chloe just smiled.

*****

Lucifer poured himself yet another drink. Amenadiel sat on the couch looking grim, same as the last eleven days. He had recovered from his wound, Lucifer was sure, yet he pressed his hand to his side from time to time in a lousy pretense of feeling pain. Lucifer suspected that his brother was simply afraid to return home. After all, people died because of him and that was a severe offense against Fathers rules.

In normal circumstances Lucifer would prefer his brother to just take off, but these weren't normal circumstances. Their Mother was on the loose, somewhere. It was better to have another angel by his side.

“I don't understand it,” Amenadiel interrupted his thoughts. “This is Mother. She should be wreaking havoc by now.”

“Yes,” Lucifer agreed. Their Mother wasn't known for restraint and she certainly didn't have any love for humans. But nothing significant had happened yet. She had been out of Hell for eleven days now and all was quiet.

He looked around his apartment. It started to look like a bloody CIA center or something. There was a huge map of LA covering the gorgeous relief of his wall, black pins marking the places they'd already looked and found absolutely nothing. The red pins were marking the remaining places, the ones they hadn't searched yet – their number decreasing fast without any results. There was a long list on the table with names of people who owned Lucifer a favor. He visited most of them, instructed them to have their eyes (and ears) opened for any information on disturbance of any kind. They got some tips but all of them led to nowhere.

So after eleven days of searching they got absolutely nothing. And Lucifer's uneasiness was growing. What would Father do if he failed to send Mother back to Hell? Would he rescind his part of their bargain?

“Maybe she's changed,” Lucifer offered. “Hell does that, you know. It changes souls. And we both know Mother's been down there for a very long time...”

“But it doesn't change souls for the better...” Amenadiel opposed.

“No, it really does not.” Lucifer remembered the old souls tortured for centuries. The shadows they had become, the empty gray shells, thin and barely visible...

“So why the silence? You don't think she just want to live here quietly, do you?”

Lucifer laughed. “Mother? Our Mother? Hardly. Maybe she's waiting.” Could Hell have taught her patience?

“For what?”

“How should I know?”

“Doesn't it bother you?”

“Indeed it does.”

“So how are we going to find her?”

“Let Maze do her job,” Lucifer replied and emptied his glass. While Lucifer and Amenadiel were collecting IOUs, his faithful demon was collecting information among creatures of lower classes...

Amenadiel shook his head. “Maze has been running the streets for ten days now. And still nothing. Maybe Mother is somewhere else.”

“No, no. She's near. I can feel her.”

“Are you sure, brother?”

“Unfortunately.” Lucifer refilled his glass again. He was very sure that Mother was near. The little tingling along his spine couldn't be caused by anything else...

What bothered Lucifer almost as much as the fact their Mother was plotting something, was how she'd got out of Hell. Yes, Amenadiel was incapacitated at the time, but still – how had she opened her cell? She hadn't. Someone must have let her out. And someone must have turn a blind eye while she was fleeting. Which meant she had supporters. Probably more then just few. But how many? And who were they? Lucifer wondered what she had promised those demons that helped her escape. What was her plan?

*****

They got to the other side of the city. Like most cities LA has its bright sides and it has some darker ones too. Chloe showed Robin places of some bizarre murders and told him all the funny stories. It wasn't such a bad day after all.

Until her cell rang.

“Decker.”

“Mrs. Decker – or is it miss now?” It was the principle of Trixie's school. She really started to hate that woman. She was annoying and she actually let Malcolm Graham took her daughter...

“It's still Mrs. Has something happened?”

“Well, it's Beatrice. She had another fight.”

Chloe sighed. It was a third fight in three days. “Don't tell me it was Tom Jenkins again.”

“Yes. And... actually his parents are here right now. Miss- Mrs. Decker, I think you should come to school immediately. She bit the boy and... well... she bit off a piece of his ear.”

“Oh God! OK, I'm on my way. But I'm on the other side of the city. I'll be there in about two hours.”

“What?! No, Mrs. Decker, you don't understand. Tom's parents are here, waiting. Well, his father is, his mother's taken the boy to a hospital. He wants to solve this right now or he'll press charges!”

“What? OK. Tell him to wait a bit?”

“I don't think he's going to wait for two hours. Can you perhaps send someone else?”

Chloe stopped the car and took a deep breath. She hated the Jenkins. They were all assholes. Father, a renown lawyer, one of those Dan couldn't afford, mother, a neatly kept housewife with no other purpose but breathing, and a malicious boy, who thought that everyone should always do whatever he wanted. He probably deserved the bite and more. “OK, I'll send someone.”

Chloe hanged up the phone. There weren't many people she could send there. Dan was in jail and she didn't exactly have many friends. More like zero really... how had her life come to this? Which meant she had just two candidates left – her mother and Lucifer. And she wasn't sure Lucifer would do that. She knew she could count on him when she needed saving her life. But picking up Trixie? That was so much more to ask...

But which one to call? A harpy or the Devil? Chloe just couldn't imagine her mother to talk through Mr. Jenkins. He wouldn't give a damn she was a star. That man was a coyote. He would eat her mother alive. OK – Devil it was. She honestly couldn't guess what Lucifer would do, but she was sure he could take care of himself. And her daughter. And it wasn't like it could get much worse, was it?

“Detective!” Lucifer yelled cheerfully on the other side. “Please tell me someone's dead!”

“Fortunately no. But someone is missing a piece of ear.”

“Oh? So we are catching a murderer of an ear now?”

“No. Listen. Trixie bit this boy in school.”

“Well, well... Not what I call a healthy appetite... Did you forget to feed her?”

“NO! She had a fight with him!”

“I see. A basic fighting technique, then. Good for her!”

“Not really. The boy's father is a lawyer and he wants to solve this right now or he'll press charges. Lucifer,” she took a deep breath, “I need you to go to the school, talk this guy down and get Trixie. Please.”

There was a long pause that got Chloe worried that he'd turn her down.

“Lucifer?”

“Can't you get her yourself?”

“I'm on the other side of town.”

“Isn't there someone else to-”

“No,” Chloe interrupted him, realizing how pathetic he must think her.

There was a dramatic sigh on the other side. “Bloody hell... All right then. It's not like the Devil has something better to do anyway.”

“Thank you,” Chloe breathed and hanged up.

Robin looked at her. She could tell he was curious about the call or more precisely about the caller but was reluctant to ask. The guy was simply too polite for this city.

“That was my partner,” she clarified.

“Really?”

“Yeah.”

Chloe must have looked at him oddly because he said: “It's none of my business but shouldn't one's partner be more supportive?”

“Well, Lucifer may have some serious shortcomings, but he's...” she couldn't find the right word.

“... the man you've fallen in love with?” Robin supplied.

“What?! No, no. We just work together. No love involved. He is my colleague.” Chloe chuckled. “Like I would ever date a guy who thinks he's the Devil.”

“Sorry, what did you say?”

“Yeah, we may have not many witches here, but we have our own Devil. Beat that, New Orleans!”

“Seriously?” Robin asked somewhat appalled. “And they let him work as a detective?”

“No, he's civilian consultant.”

“And you work with him... willingly?”

“Hm, I actually like working with him. He's very observant and can read people well.”

“Chloe,” Robin turned towards her with a serious expression, “people like him can be very dangerous. If they succumb to their delusions they may cease to see the reality for what it is and do some crazy things. You could get hurt.”

“No, Lucifer would never harm me. He is little weird but he's... reliable... in a way,” she said probably surprised more than Robin by her words. “Anyway we should head back. I need to pick up Trixie.”

*****

Lucifer had mixed feelings about this. Part of him was happy that Chloe trusted him with her ugly spawn, part of him was unhappy, because he really didn't want to deal with the little devil. Not that he called her little devil because she had something in common with him. That would be devious. Lucifer smirked at his own wordplay while he sped to the stupid school.

He marched right to the principal's office. There were several people there. In a chair behind an ugly desk sat an ugly middle-aged woman who was – Father help him – ginger and wearing cheap pink dress. People like that should go straight to Hell regardless their life's actions. Next to her desk sat a robust bald man in an expensive suit, looking very grim. There were two other adults in the room – a woman and a man, probably teachers judging by their boring looks.

And then there was Beatrice who jumped off her chair the moment he appeared, ran straight to him like Hell hounds were on her heals, buried her head to his shirt and wrapped her arms around his torso. One would say that it was an expected reaction from her, but something was off. First of all, she didn't yell “Lucifer” and second she didn't raise her head to grin at him.

Lucifer's reaction on the other hand was very expected. The moment her body slammed into his all he wanted was to get some space between them. So he put his hand on her shoulder intending to push her away but something very different happened. Because the second he laid his hand on her he realized that she was trembling. And what were those funny muffled noises she was making? Well, either she was sniffing his shirt or she was crying... and given the increasing sensation of wetness on his stomach, crying it was.

Beatrice Decker who didn't cry even when a lunatic kidnapped her, was crying. So it happened that his hand – on it's own volition – slid lower to her back and instead of pushing her away pressed her closer... This was certainly something that needed analyzing. But not now. Now Lucifer was getting angry...

“Finely,” the fat man, presumably the lawyer, yelled. “I've been waiting here for all eternity!”

“Trust me, you don't have no idea what eternity looks like,” Lucifer replied, his voice low and somewhat gruff. But the man didn't notice. Maybe because he didn't pay attention to anything else but himself.

“I had to cancel an appointment with a prominent client because of this... this...” he pointed his hand at Trixie, “this ill-mannered offspring of a criminal.”

“Is that right?” Lucifer asked seemingly calmly.

“And who the hell are you, anyway? Not her father, that one is in jail. Her stepfather? Uncle?”

“Neither. I'm just the Devil. Nothing more. Oh, and her friend...” (did he really say that?) “...sort of.”

“A madman, great!”

“Oh, pal, you have no idea...” Lucifer breathed.

“All right, I don't care if you're God himself. Here's what it's gonna be. I want all the hospital expanses paid including a plastic surgeon. I want monetary compensation for my son's pain and suffering and I want the nasty child and her mother to write my son an apology.”

“Is that all you want?” Lucifer asked with a nasty smile.

“Excuse me?”

“It seems to me that you've left something out. I mean a man of your standing must have some extraordinary desires. Tell me, what else do you want? What do you really desire?”

The man looked spellbound for a second and then spilled out: “I want to win all the cases without having to bribe anyone anymore.”

The people in the room gasped which released the man from his stupor. He paled beyond recognition when he realized what he had just said. And then his color turned to that of a ripe tomato.

“I'll turn your life into hell for this!” he hissed.

Lucifer laughed. “On the contrary, mon ami.” And then he reached deep inside his body to summon the fires of Hell and let the stupid man have a look at his future accommodation. The sweet sound of his scream! The funny jerk of his body!

“No, please, no! I'll be good, I'll swear to God. Please! I'll be good!” he screamed and moved backwards until he slammed to a wall. Trixie finally let go of Lucifer and turned towards the rambling man to look what was going on.

“You better be now that you know where the bad lawyers go,” Lucifer smiled at him. “I believe the matter is settled then?”

Mr. Jenkins nodded furiously.

“And there will be no problems with your son anymore...”

“Of course not! No problems, ever. I swear!”

“Very well. We'll be on our way then. It was fun meeting you all,” Lucifer smirked, ignoring the shocked faces, and started marching out of the office. Trixie ran after him, took his hand – without his permission – and smiled sheepishly up at him, her face streaked with dried tears.

When they got to his car, he hoisted her to the passenger’s seat and seated himself by the wheel. He was curious about what had happened: “I presume it wasn't a love bite gone wrong you gave the boy?”

Trixie shook her head, her look very serious for someone so young. “He said daddy is a bad guy and that his father is going to put him in jail for the rest of his life and that I'll never see him again. And then he said that mommy must be very naive and probably bad too if she married him. And that I must be stupid too and gonna become a criminal like my dad, because criminals produce criminals. So I punched him and then he punched me and we started to fight,” she spilled out, finally out of breath.

Lucifer thought about it for a while. This was probably the time to say something like “hurting people is bad” – something a good parent should say to keep his offspring on the right path. Fortunately for him he was neither parent nor good, so he settled on: “You didn't swallow that piece of that boy, did you?”

Trixie made a face and said something like: “Ewww.”

“I take it as a no. Good, human flash is not healthy for digestion.”

“Lucifer?”

“Yes, child?”

“Don't tell mommy I cried...”

Lucifer looked at her troubled face. “Don't worry, biter, your secret's safe with me.” He started the engine.

“Lucifer?”

He sighed. “What now?”

“I don't think I'm allowed to ride in the front seat.”

“Says who?”

“Mommy.”

“Well, she is not here, is she? And besides where else would you ride? In the trunk?”

Oh, yes. Lucifer's pretty car didn't have the second row of seats. Trixie bounced excitedly. She never, ever had ridden in front in all her life. She was sooo happy, it was Lucifer who picked her up.

“Lucifer?”

“Yes?” her savior said, sounding annoyed.

“What's a love bite?”

Lucifer smirked. “Ask you mother. No, wait. On the second thought, ask Maze, your mother won't probably know the answer.”

*****

Chloe's cell beeped. There was a message from Lucifer: _Package is in LUX._ She sighed with relief. But her relief was short lived. It was viciously murdered, when she arrived at LUX and saw the scene taking place in the middle of the club.

It was early afternoon, so the club was still closed. There were only three people in there. Lucifer was sitting at his piano and playing a swift, cheery melody observing the other two occupants. Maze and Trixie were standing against each other in a combat stance, Trixie clutching one of Maze's knives and actually trying to hit Maze with it. “You have to be fast and your aim true. If your opponent is male, go for his balls first. Your arm is short, so don't try to hit him any higher. Doing so would only get you too close to him and make you vulnerable to his attack.”

“Trixie!” Chloe yelled so loudly, the girl dropped the knife with a surprise.

Lucifer stopped playing. “Detective! Finally.”

“What's going on?” Chloe started down the stairs followed by Robin. “Why is Trixie trying to stab Maze?”

“What does it look like?” Maze asked sneering at Chloe and eying the unknown newcomer suspiciously.

“Maze is teaching her how to fight properly,” Lucifer explained and frowned at the man following her.

“With a knife?”

“Well, you can't expect her to fight all her fights with teeth, can you? What if she encounters someone with bigger fangs? Haven't you heard the story of Little Red Riding Hood? The wolf pretending to be someone else and eating poor Red Hood alive? Now if she had a knife, she could have cut her way out of his entrails.”

Chloe stood dumbstruck. What was he rambling about?

“And by the way, do you know there's a man sticking to your ass?”

Chloe rolled her eyes and turned to Robin. “The man is our new detective, Robin Dubois. Meet Mazikeen, Trixie and Lucifer Morningstar.”

“Nice to meet you,” the new detective said and offered his hand to Lucifer.

“It usually is,” Lucifer uttered and took the offered hand reluctantly. He scrutinized the man from his head to his toes. He was tall, almost as tall as Lucifer himself. His clothes if not expensive were well tailored and tasteful and Lucifer suspected that he was also one of those women considered handsome.

“So you're the famous Lucifer,” Robin said eying Lucifer with interest.

“Heard of me, have you?”

“Yes, I've heard of you,” he replied somewhat cryptically.

“So, detective,” Lucifer turned to Chloe, “is this the reason you couldn't pick up your own child? Were too busy playing good cop – new cop?”

“No, I was just showing him around the town. So how did it go? Did you talk the lawyer down?”

“Oh, yes. We've come to an understanding. He's promised not to press charges and to leave Beatrice alone.”

“Really?” Chloe asked with disbelieve. “Just like that?”

Lucifer put on his best face of utter innocence and smiled, telling Chloe without words that he was guilty of something. He dared her silently to ask the question she so obviously wanted to ask. But she didn't.

“You know what, I don't want to know. Just – thank you,” she said and gave him a look he couldn't quite decipher. It was very similar to the one she gave him after Malcolm had died. It was just beyond Lucifer's understanding. One of those human emotions he didn't comprehend. Oh, he understood the basic ones like anger, fear, hate, desperation. They were after all his constant companions during his very very very long stay in Hell. The place reeked with them. But things like gratitude, care or empathy eluded him. Maybe he had known them once, a long time ago, when he'd been living with his family... But after the eternity in Hell, he had just forgotten what they had felt like. And he would like to learn them again. Not because he missed them – you cannot miss something, you don't remember, right? – but because he wanted to understand humans. To understand Chloe and the look she was giving him right now.

“We'll be on our way,” Chloe interrupted his thoughts. “I guess I'll see you soon.”

“Yes,” Lucifer agreed hastily. “Bye now.”

And with that they were gone leaving Lucifer alone with his treacherous thoughts.


	3. Broken minds

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A new case. A very odd one. And unpleasant too (especially for Chloe).

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is somewhat lengthy (sorry, I'm taking it slow). There will be some action and a revelation in the next one, I promise.

_Chloe was lying on the floor. It was cold. She was cold. It felt like her body was turning into an icicle._

_She couldn't speak. She couldn't move. All she could do was stare and listen. Malcolm's malicious face was hovering several feet above her. And then he spoke: “You know I can't let her live, Decker. She's a witness. Witnesses are bad for my future. And I want my future to be good. Really good.” Then he moved out of her sight, and Chloe heard his footsteps echoing in the hangar along with his voice: “Trixie, little bird, where are you? Mommy is waiting for you. Come out, little Decker!”_

_Chloe tried to scream, to warn her daughter, but no sound went past her lips. She managed to turn her head only to see Lucifer lying next to her, surrounded by blood. His eyes were staring heavenward, and his lips were moving like in a prayer, although no sound escaped them either. She tried to move her hand, to reach him, beg him to help Trixie, but her body refused to obey. She felt tears running down her cheeks, and then a single shot resonated in the distance..._

 

Chloe woke up with a start. Her face wet with tears, her body sweaty. _This can't go on_ , she thought. She'd had this nightmare almost every single night since the incident with Malcolm. It always started the same way – actually the way it really had happened. But at some point it twisted into a new, but always very bad ending – all of them dying. Well except for Malcolm, of course.

Maybe, she should go see a therapist. And how was it even possible, that she had nightmares almost every night, while Trixie didn't seem to be bothered by the events at all?

She got up, took a quick shower, prepared Trixie for school (because her very helpful mother wasn't home over the night), and got to the station.

After several minutes her phone rang informing her of a murder.

_Finely_ , she thought, grabbed her jacket, and headed to her car, only to be stopped by Robin in front of the elevator. “Hey. I don't want to impose myself on you or something, but would you mind terribly taking me with you on this one? All the others are just in the middle of cases, so...”

Chloe frowned. “I'm not looking for a new partner. I work with Lucifer.”

“I know, I know,” Robin reassured her. “I just don't want to sit here, and maybe I can learn how you do things in LA? I will not interfere with the case, I'll just watch.”

Chloe wasn't happy about his request, and Lucifer for sure would be pissed, but she didn't have any sane reason to refuse him. It would be just rude to say 'no'. “OK. Fine.”

Robin smiled at her, and Chloe thought again how handsome he really was.

“We have to pick up Lucifer first.”

“Can't wait,” Robin replied sounding mildly sarcastic.

 

Lucifer trotted out of LUX, looking happy like a child on his way to Disneyland. Chloe was standing next to her car, she had just finished reading a new message about the case, and was now pocketing her cell phone. Lucifer halted abruptly in front of her. “Detective...”

“Hi.”

He pointed at her car: “It seems you've forgotten to lock your car. There's an intruder inside,” he said with a scorn. “Shall I call the cops?”

“Good morning, Lucifer,” Robin greeted him cheerfully.

“Well, it has been...” Lucifer retorted.

Chloe sighed. “Lucifer, Robin is going with us on this case.”

“So, it is 'Robin' now, is it?”

“Actually, I've been 'Robin' since the day I was born.” The man said with a smile.

“Funny, are we?” Lucifer sneered.

“Well, women use to say that about me.”

“I bet they do.”

“All right. I take the bet. What does the winner get?” Robin asked and glanced towards Chloe.

“OK. That's enough!” Chloe boomed, before Lucifer could have replied. She really had neither time nor mood for this. “Lucifer, get in the car.”

“But-”

“Shush. And get in the car. We're already late.”

“But detective, the seat is rather full. And although it can be stimulating to sit in a man's lap on some occasions, this is not one of them.”

“Oh, for God's sake, Lucifer! Just get in the damn car, or I'm leaving you here!”

“I'm not sitting in the back. That's for criminals and lowlifes.”

“Are you FIVE?!” Chloe yelled.

Robin interrupted whatever Lucifer started to say: “You know what? Lucifer's right. He is your partner, not me. He should be sitting in the front.” And he got out of the car to change the seat.

“Thank you,” Chloe said and patted Robin's arm briefly. “It's nice to know there are some sensible men left in the world.” She didn't spare Lucifer one look, and just moved to the driver's seat.

Robin, on the other hand, gave Lucifer a wide smile and a wink! Lucifer stood dumbstruck. What had just happened? He'd got what he wanted – the seat next to Chloe – yet he had a feeling he'd lost some kind of a battle no-one had informed him about. So he got to the car feeling somewhat lousy.

“So, what's the case, detective?” he asked to change the topic and hopefully his mood as well.

“Oh, you'll like this one. A nun's been found dead in the yard of a convent.”

“Bloody HELL!”

A burst of laughter exploded in the back of the car.

 

The convent stood in the less shiny part of town. The smallish estate was surrounded by a brick wall with an iron entrance gate looming ominously over anyone who dared to approach. Next to the gate was a big sign: _Catholic Church_ _– Saint Agnes's Home for Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder_.

They left the car outside the gate.

Robin got off first and stopped just in front of the entrance, eying the gate: “It's kind of terrifying, don't you think?”

“You can always stay in the car, we won't mind,” Lucifer retorted. Why had the detective taken this idiot with them, was beyond him. Maybe because of those puppy eyes?

Robin turned his head to Lucifer and grinned: “I'm more concerned about you. After all, I'm not the one in a risk of bursting into flames when walking through the gate.” And with that he walked inside.

“Oh, funny. It doesn't work like that, you know!” Lucifer yelled after him and started to follow, but Chloe caught his arm.

“Hey. Stop freaking out, OK? We have work to do.”

“I'm not freaking out, detective. Why would you think that?”

Chloe sighed. “Maybe because you're acting like a baby since you spotted Robin in the car?”

Lucifer tried to protest, but Chloe stopped him: “Lucifer, he's with us only on this one case. I'm not replacing you, OK?”

Lucifer looked at her like she was talking nonsense. “Of course you're not replacing me. I'm irreplaceable. And besides, you like working with me, right?” he finished with a self-satisfied smile.

“Right,” Chloe confirmed and rolled her eyes.

“Have you considered you might like some other things doing with me as well?” he asked with a smirk.

Chloe just shook her head and walked through the gate, followed by Lucifer, who, indeed, didn't burst into flames. There were several people already working in the crime scene.

“Talk to me,” Chloe said to the coroner examining the body lying on the grass.

“The victim is female, 32. The cause of death is a slit throat, which was executed in a precise manner. There's evidence of a mild struggle. My guess is the victim spotted the killer in the last moment, and before she could have reacted he slit her throat.”

“Can you guess the time of death?”

“Approximately between 1 and 3 am. I'll know more after the autopsy.”

“Thank you, doc.” Chloe turned to the policeman gathering evidence: “Have you found the murder weapon?”

“No. The killer probably took it with him.”

“Any witnesses?”

“We're not sure. Go talk to Mother Superior,” the policeman said and pointed to an older woman clad in black and white robe, standing next to an entrance to a building.

“Mother Superior?”

“Yes,” the woman replied, her face a mix of concern and serenity. “I'm detective Chloe Decker, this is detective Dubois and Lucifer Morningstar.” The sister looked oddly at the last named person.

“What can you tell us about the victim?”

“Sister Eunice joined us when she was 18. She's been working here ever since. She was a very dedicated member of this community.”

“Any enemies?”

“No, everybody loved her. She was kind, selfless and hardworking. And she was excellent with the children. I'm sorry, detective, but shouldn't you be focusing on finding Patrick? Sister Eunice certainly deserves justice, but she is with our Lord now. Patrick on the other hand...”

“I'm sorry,” Chloe interrupted her. “Who's Patrick?”

“They didn't tell you? It's the boy who's been kidnapped.”

“What?” Chloe's world spun around her. She could feel blood draining out of her face, probably leaving her as white as a fresh snow. She hoped no-one noticed. Well, maybe Lucifer did, because he took a step closer to her.

“He is one of our wards,” the sister continued. “He's been with us since he was three.”

“OK,” Chloe breathed, her voice somewhat unsteady. “Any other kid missing?”

“No. Just him.”

Lucifer stepped in: “Do you have any idea who would want to kidnap him?”

“No, but...,” the sister hesitated, probably not wanting to speak with HIM, “he is special. He is... touched.”

“Yes, we know. We've read the sign at the entrance,” Lucifer replied.

“No, I mean touched by God.”

“Yes, yes,” Lucifer responded impatiently, “retarded, we've got that.”

“No, not retarded. People with Asperger's syndrome aren't retarded. But it's not what I mean anyway. He has this... gift to make people feel better.”

“A bottle of a good whiskey can do that, and I'm pretty sure God has never touched it,” Lucifer retorted.

The sister frowned, her eyes disapproving. “There's no need to be spiteful. We respect all people and all religions as well as atheists here. If you want to stay among these walls, I suggest you do the same.”

“Oh, I like your attitude,” Lucifer said, quite charmed. “You have some balls... in a figurative sense of speaking of course... at least I hope so.”

C hloe  meanwhile  managed to  g e t over her little nausea.  And given the direction the dialogue was heading, she felt it wise to step in again: “ What about his parents?”

The sister shook her head. “As far as I know his mother died during the childbirth without stating the name of his father. And no-one has ever claimed him.”

“Did anyone know about this Patrick's ability?”

“Yes, several people. Mostly of this neighborhood. It wasn't a secret.”

“We'll need a list of all those people and their addresses, if you have them.”

“That shouldn't be a problem. I'll get into it.”

Chloe stopped her: “I have one more question before you go. Are there any witnesses?”

The sister hesitated for a second. “ There might be. We have a girl here,  Susie , who doesn't need to sleep much. She goes to her bed at 2:30 am every day. And her window oversee s the yard. But she is  severely autistic. She seldom perceive s her surroundings, and she doesn't speak at all. I don't think you'll get  any thing from her, even if she saw  some thing.”

“We will try,” Lucifer replied. “I can be quite convincing.”

M other Superior directed them to a youngish looking sister who introduced herself as  Mary . She looked very distressed. “Patrick is my charge. I hope you'll find him soon. I can't imagine, what he's going through right now. He must be so scared! He is so young. Only eight. How can someone do that to a child?”  She looked at Chloe, probably wanting an answer Chloe didn't have. And s he  sounded so desperate ...

Chloe swallowed hard. She knew what the sister was going through. She lived it herself...

“Can you show us his room?” Lucifer asked.

“Yes.” The sister took them to a neatly kept room. There were tons of books in a large bookcase in alphabetical order, all of them about planets or stars. There was a small bed in a corner and a desk without a speck of dust on it. There was a small model of Solar system hanging from the ceiling on invisible strings. On one wall was a large photo of a small, brown haired, boy holding some kind of prize in his hand.

“Is this the place the kidnapper took him from?” Lucifer asked looking around.

“We suppose. The bed was unmade. Patrick would never leave it thus if he weren't sleeping in it. Your people have already searched it for evidence.”

Chloe pointed to the photo. “It's him, isn't it?”

The sister nodded.

“Do you mind if we take the photo with us?”

Mary took the photo from the wall and handed it to Chloe. “He's so talented. He won the first  prize in  a mathematical competition.  And this ability of his... A year ago my mother died suddenly. I was so crestfallen. I couldn't eat, couldn't sleep. I was so miserable. And then he just took my hand and all this feeling disappeared like it was never there. All I felt was peace and a presence of our Lord. ”

Sister Mary took them to see Susie then. Her room was almost identical to Patrick's but instead of books there were collections of stamps. The girl sat on the floor in the middle of the room slowly inserting old looking stamps into an album, her long blond hair obscuring her face.

“Susie, honey,” the sister knelt in front of the girl. “These people are detectives. They want to ask you a few questions about sister Eunice, if that's OK?”

The girl didn't reacted at all. Sister Mary sighed. “You won't probably get anything from her. You can try, just don't touch her. She can't bear that.”

“Don't worry,” Lucifer said. “I can't bear touching children either.”

“Is it wise you talk to her then?” It was Robin's question.

“Yes, just be quiet and listen. You may learn something.”

“From you?” Robin asked, doubts all over his face. “I hope not.”

Lucifer crouched in front of Susie: “Hello, child. I see you have some interesting things there. What do you say, you tell us, what you saw, and I will get you a thousand of stamps?”

There was absolutely no reaction. Lucifer frowned. He reached into himself turning on his ability to draw out people desires. He didn't know if it would work, especially if the child wasn't looking at him. “Tell me, Susie, what is it you really want? Maybe I can give it to you.”

Susie stopped playing with her stamps and lifted her head, her eyes trained in the direction of Lucifer's left ear. But she didn't speak.

“What do you want, Susie?” Lucifer tried again. Nothing happened for several seconds, and then the girl's eyes suddenly darted to Lucifer's, unguarded, honest and fathomless, her soul visible without anything clouding it. Lucifer shivered. He couldn't remember seeing anyone's soul so clearly. And hers was exceptionally bright and pure. The worse part, however, was the feeling that the girl could see to the bottom of his being as well.

He heard a gasp behind him, but didn't pay any attention to it. Now that the girl was looking directly at him, he couldn't let her go. “What did you see, Susie?”

The girl kept looking straight at him for a while, but didn't answer. And then she averted her eyes, and returned to her stamps, furiously turning pages of her album.

“Bloody hell,” Lucifer breathed, annoyed by his failure. He started to stand up, but a small hand suddenly caught his wrist, the grip surprisingly strong. Susie put something into his palm, and then let go of his hand, returning to her stamps. It all happened so quickly Lucifer would think he'd dreamt it, if it wasn't for an object lying in his palm. It was an old looking stamp with a colored picture of a... fallen angel. Well, well, the girl did see to the bottom of him...

“What is it?” Chloe asked.

“Nothing,” Lucifer replied and stuffed the stamp into his pocket.

Chloe tried to catch his hand, but wasn't fast enough. “Lucifer, give it to me. It can be important for the case.”

“I assure you, detective, it isn't. But if you want it, you can take it,” he said and wriggled his eyebrows lasciviously, quite sure Chloe wouldn't put her hand anywhere near his trousers. Well, he was wrong.

Lucifer actually jumped a little when her hand slipped into his pocket and came to a contact with his limb (the left one, not the middle one, unfortunately – but one cannot be too greedy, right?).

“Detective?” Lucifer drawled, his eyes sparkling.

Chloe ignored him though, she just looked at the stamp she'd fished out of his pocket, and groaned. “Of course,” she uttered and pushed the stamp back to Lucifer's hand, leaving the room. Robin smirked at him – he probably saw what was on the stamp too – and followed Chloe out like a puppy dog on a leash. The only thing missing was a wagging tale.

Lucifer hurried after them only to come to an abrupt stop. There was a new player, it seemed. A smallish middle aged woman, looking very determined and stern (like someone's aunt, actually), was blocking the hallway waving a badge in front of Chloe and Robin. “Detective Emma Johnson. You're the ones working my case?”

“Your case?” Chloe repeated, confused.

“I'm investigating a kidnapping of another boy, which took place five days ago. And I very much like to start investigating this one too.”

“Why?” Lucifer asked.

“Because I believe they were both kidnapped by the same man.”

“You have some evidence?” Chloe asked.

“No, but I don't believe in coincidences. The first boy is Andy Brooks. He is eight years old and autistic. He has been taken from the street in a broad daylight. The witnesses agreed on the looks of the man who took him – average, brown haired, middle aged, man. He didn't even bother to wear a mask. He just jumped out of a car and grabbed him. They were gone before anyone thought about calling 911. So I may have no evidence, but I still have this gut feeling, that these cases are connected somehow. And I will investigate them as such, until someone or something proves me wrong. You can either join me, or get out of my way. I really don't care which one you choose.”

“We are homicide detectives,” Chloe said. “But we can hardly investigate the murder of sister Eunice without investigating the kidnapping too.”

“Joining it is then,” detective Johnson agreed and they exchanged all the information they had so far. There wasn't plenty. There was no real lead concerning Andy Brooks disappearance. The boy lived with his mother in the same apartment since he was born. No major problems with neighbors or anyone else. The only suspicious thing was an incident that had occurred several minutes before he was taken. Andy apparently decided to go to the library on his own, crossing the street through a red light. A bystander managed to catch him at the last moment, saving his life, but earning a fit of screaming and clawing from the boy. It escalated with the bystander striking the boy, quite pissed at him and not knowing what else to do. The boy fought him back, and the bystander turned into a fit of rage. Several people had to pacify him. Andy Brooks managed to free himself only to be caught again by the kidnaper. The kidnaper had at least one accomplice – the driver. Johnson questioned the bystander as a prime suspect, but it was a dead end. The man's record was as clean as a polished mirror, his character sound, and he'd never met the boy prior to the episode. Johnson managed to follow the route of the kidnaper's car via street cameras, but she got to a dead end with the car leaving the main street. They found the car the same day, empty. It turned out it was stolen just several minutes before the kidnapping. The whole kidnapping action seemed very hectic, executed without a prior plan.

They moved to the office of Mother Superior. She sat by a huge desk full of books, behind her a very large cross with Jesus hanging on the wall. “Here's the list you asked for,” she said and handed Chloe the list with names and addresses. “These are the people I know for sure are aware of Patrick's ability. The woman on the top – Mrs. Weiner – was the last one who visited Patrick with the purpose of healing her. It was two days ago.”

Chloe blinked. “Sixty seven people?” It would take them forever to question them all.

“I'm afraid so,” the sister replied.

“Thank you sister. We'll be in touch.”

“Good luck, detectives. And God be with you.”

They all thanked her (except for Lucifer who actually snorted), and turned to leave.

“Mr. Morningstar,” the sister stopped him. “A word, please?”

Lucifer narrowed his eyes – what she could possibly want with him?

“Sister Mary told me what you did.”

“You have to be more specific, sister, I did a lot of things since the beginning of time.”

“With Susie. You are actually the first... person she ever looked in the eyes or touched of her own accord.”

“Well, I do have a charming personality.”

“I was wondering if you would consider visiting the children from time to time.”

Lucifer snorted. Was she being serious? “Do you know who I am?”

“I believe I do.”

“And you have no problem with that?”

“If the Lord is letting you walk the Earth, then he must have a good reason for it. Who am I to judge his decision?”

“Well, in that case let me think about it... NO! Thank you for your generous offer, but I detest children immensely.”

“Why?”

“Why? Because they are so bloody pure! Their souls shine like tiny stars just waiting to fall from their heights. To burn in the atmosphere and then hit the ground and crush to million little pieces!”

“You are afraid you will have to watch them fall.” It was a statement, not a question.

Lucifer laughed, but it sounded forced even to his own ears. “I'm the Devil. I'm not afraid of anything.”

“The thing is that humans are born pure. We don't choose it, it's forced on us. And people sometimes tend to mistake innocence for goodness. They fear that loosing innocence means turning into evil. But it's not like that. The innocents don't know good nor evil. They have to learn it first. Without it they wouldn't be whole. So they have to fall, they have to experience it both. Only then they can choose and either become truly evil or rise to real goodness... So you see, the fall is an important part of life,” she finished and added as an afterthought: “Anyway the offer stands if you change your mind.”

Lucifer stared at the sister for a while, her little speech intriguing. He'd never thought about it this way. Was this what repenting was truly about? To become good after a fall? So the people, who did something evil, could become good if they so chose? And be forgiven and welcomed to Heaven?

“I better go,” he rasped, not wanting to talk or even think about it. He then turned and walked out.

 

Lucifer caught the others outside the imposing gate, waiting for him by their cars. “We decided to pay a visit to Mrs. Weiner, the last Patrick's visitor,” Chloe indicated to Robin and detective Johnson.

“Is it me, or is this turning into a group?” Lucifer asked looking around.

“Well, for now...” Chloe replied and got in her car. Lucifer and Robin followed her, detective Johnson got in her own.

“So, what did Mother Superior want?” Chloe asked after a while.

Lucifer grinned. “What? Are you worried we did some nasty stuff?”

Chloe just shook her head, but Robin reacted: “Should we be?”

“Don't be ridiculous,” Lucifer retorted. “I wasn't there long enough even for a quickie.”

“Gross, Lucifer, gross,” Chloe groaned.

“If you must know, she wanted my assistance with the children.”

“Really?” Robin and Chloe said at the same time.

Lucifer looked offended. “Yes, really. I declined, of course. Can't spare any more time between LUX, solving crimes and sex.”

 

They stopped in front of an old house, which looked like it was standing just because it would be too exhausting to fall down.

A very old lady in a very old white dress (both probably even older than the house itself) opened the door, looking delighted she had visitors. Little she cared they were detectives solving a homicide and a kidnapping.

“Would you like your tea with a milk or a lemon?” she yelled from her kitchen to the living room, where she seated them all on a squeaky couch.

Half of them yelled 'lemon', half of them 'milk', but it was pointless anyway, because as they were soon to discover the lady was almost deaf. They all got tea with no milk and no lemon.

“I remember the child. Such a nice boy he was,” the lady singsonged while seating herself on a plush chair.

“Is,” Chloe corrected her.

“Yes?” the lady asked, looking confused.

“He IS.”

“His what?”

“Oh, God, never mind.”

The lady probably didn't hear that either, turning her head to Lucifer hoping for some clarification.

“Oh my, what a handsome fellow you are,” she sighed when she scrutinized him.

“Thank you, my dear,” Lucifer replied very loudly, flattered.

“You actually remind me of my dear late husband. He was handsome too.” The old lady pointed at a photo of an old, gray, and wrinkled man, placed on a dresser.

Chloe smirked. “Yeah, there is a certain resemblance, especially around the cheekbones.” It earned her an annoyed look from Lucifer and a giggle from Robin, who unsuccessfully tried to hide it behind a cough.

“He used to be a sailor, my husband. He looked so good in his white uniform.”

Although they eventually managed to ask the lady all the questions and get all the answers, they didn't learn anything significant. She only confirmed that Patrick had an ability to make people feel good. Apparently, he helped her to get out of a depression several times.

“This was an amazing waste of time,” detective Johnson complained as soon as the door shut behind them. “I don't think that this Patrick's ability is relevant to the case if it is even real. Andy doesn't have any super powers to his name. The only thing connecting them is their gender, age and autistic disorder.”

“But why these children and not some others?” Robin asked.

“That's something we have to figure out,” Johnson replied. “I'll see you tomorrow.”

Chloe, Lucifer and Robin paid a visit to several other people on the list, but even with Lucifer's helpful ability they got nothing.

“This is really pointless,” Chloe sighed as she sped back to the precinct.

“Do you think it's true?” Robin asked from the back seat. “That the boy can heal people's emotions?”

“I don't know,” Chloe replied. “But it's not significant. The important thing is there are people who actually believe that. It's the belief that steers people's action, not the truth.”

“What about you, Lucifer?” Robin asked. “What do you think?”

Lucifer turned his head, surprised the man would acknowledge him thus. “You are asking me? Well, there are lots of ways a mortal can get an ability like that. And several sources as well. But being it a healing power my bet is it's from God. Directly or indirectly.  I can't tell without checking the boy. ”

“Hm,” Robin muttered noncommittally. They dropped him off at the precinct and continued to LUX.

“You're never gonna stop with this nonsense, are you?” Chloe asked after a while of silence.

“What nonsense?”

“Claiming being the Devil.”

Lucifer sighed. “How many times do I have to tell you that I AM the Devil?”

“Just one more time, please?” Chloe retorted sarcastically.

“I'll save it for the right time, then.”

Chloe stopped her car in front of the entrance to LUX, but Lucifer didn't get off. Instead he turned to her. “I can talk to the lieutenant if you want me to. She could assign this case to someone else.”

“Why, because of the kidnapping? I am a big girl, Lucifer. I can handle it.”

“I know you can, detective, but... you didn't seem very comfortable handling it in the morning.”

Ah... he did notice.

“Are you sure you want to continue?” Lucifer asked.

“Yes, I am sure. What about you?”

“What about me?” Lucifer repeated with a frown.

“You don't mind working with Robin?”

Lucifer scoffed. “Do you really want me to answer that question?”

“You realize he is teasing you, right?”

“Oh, you think he's got a soft spot for me?”

“No,” Chloe snorted. “I think he's just trying to fit in somehow. He is new here. He doesn't know anybody. Just give him a chance.”

“Oh please, it's not a chance with ME he wants. It's yours attention he craves... spotted a hot chic and probably doesn't know what to do about it.”

“Oh, really?” Chloe asked sardonically.

“Yes. I know his type. Mightily annoying...”

“Well, he is not the only one,” Chloe retorted looking at him pointedly.

“Is it a complaint, detective?”

“More like an observation. You are more irritating than usual since our Dr. Martin session. Lucifer, what is going on?”

“As I said before, some unpleasant family business.”

“Hmm, you're not in some kind of a trouble, are you?”

“Well, it depends on the definition of the word 'trouble'”.

“But you would come to me if it got serious, right? You know I would help you.”

“You would do that, wouldn't you?” He gave her a faint smile.

“Yes. We are friends.”

Lucifer studied her for a little while and then he sighed. “Yes we are. I better go. Have a good night, detective.”

“You too.”

“Oh, I will, don't you worry. And if you'll find yourself in a need of a better night than just a good one, you know where to find me,” Lucifer grinned at her and got off her car.

Chloe rolled her eyes but couldn't stop a smile playing around her mouth. “ Keep dreaming.”

“I will, love.” But she probably didn't hear the last sentence, her car already on its way.

Lucifer  had a very bad feeling about this case. Why on Earth would they get this kidnapping as their first case after the Malcolm incident?  He couldn't tell if it was  all some kind of a coincidence, or if the lieutenant assigned  them this case on purpose. Anyway he was going to have a little chat with the woman.


	4. Didn't See That Coming (part 1)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lucifer volunteers to babysit Trixie (yes, really). It's not like it could kill him, right? Or could it?

It was late afternoon, two days after the murder and the kidnapping. Lucifer, Chloe AND bloody Robin were sitting in Chloe's living room going through various files. Lucifer looked again at the sketch of a man the witnesses of Andy's abduction had described. He looked uninteresting. Just average in all possible ways. And although this sketch had been delivered to the media and the man's face was now famous, it seemed he had just vanished from the Earth.

Lucifer didn't like this case at all... and although Chloe acted like she was OK, Lucifer knew she wasn't. No, she didn't like the case at all either. So he had gone to lieutenant Monroe yesterday and asked nicely for the truth. Had she assigned them the case on purpose? He didn't believe in coincidences, but the lieutenant swore she hadn't known of the kidnapping at the time. Lucifer believed her. But still... coincidence?

Anyway, the case was so bloody boring... and he was so tired, not having time to sleep much in the past several days (thank you, Mother). And yes, even angels needed to sleep, sometimes. And with Robin to top it all... Solving crimes wasn't fun anymore...

Today was even more boring than yesterday...

All of them, including detective Johnson, had spent the whole previous day and the major part of today interviewing people from Mother Superior's list, the ones who knew about Patrick's special ability. It had got them nowhere and they had visited barely one quarter of them. Still, Chloe thought it better to interview the rest as well. Luckily, Lucifer had got this brilliant idea to split up to cover more ground, successfully removing Robin from their team, pairing him with Johnson. It worked. For a while. Few hours later he was back.

Really, the guy had implanted himself into Chloe's life like a flea to a dog's fur. Lucifer was currently thinking how to get rid of him for good when the door opened, a miniature human ran inside yelling “Lucifer” and slammed into him with such a force that he almost fell from his chair.

Lucifer yelped, embarrassing himself before the good helping Mr. Proper (thank you very much, Trixie), but at least he managed not to push her away.

The girl grinned at him, obviously satisfied with his reaction, and giving him a mischievous look she got on her tiptoes, craned her neck and actually tried to KISS him! Lucifer managed to avoid that devious act at the last moment, successfully slipping from his chair and welcoming almost theatrically the next person who had walked in – Penelope Decker.

“Lucifer, darling, it's so nice to see you again!” Penelope beamed at him. Then she spotted Robin. “Oh, and who is this handsome fellow?”

Lucifer frowned. Did she really say “handsome”? Well, he probably was, but did she really have to say it aloud?

Chloe introduced Robin, who charmed Penelope just by being from New Orleans, and earned himself an invitation: “I would like you both to stay for dinner to get to know you better, but I'm flying to San Francisco in the evening.”

“What?” Chloe gasped.

“There's a convention I can't miss.”

“But you promised you would look after Trixie tomorrow.”

“No, I didn't. You said the next Saturday.”

“No, I said this Saturday, mom!”

Penelope frowned. “Oh, are you sure?”

“Yes!”

“Well, it's unfortunate. I've already confirmed my attendance. Can't the babysitter girl look after her?”

“No, she's going somewhere with her parents.”

“What's going on?” Lucifer asked.

Chloe hesitated. She didn't want to say anything about this to Lucifer, feeling he would only get angry again, but he probably wouldn't stop asking... “Dan has an appointment with a lawyer tomorrow and wants me to be there.”

“Does he now?” Lucifer asked with disdain. “Well, it seems like you can't go there now.”

“Why couldn't she?” Robin stepped in. “I can take care of Trixie, if you want me to.”

“Really?” Chloe and Penelope reacted at the same time, while Lucifer yelled: “What?!”

“Yes, it would be no problem. I like children.”

“Of course you do,” Lucifer muttered. “But the important question is does Beatrice like you?”

They all looked at him oddly, but he continued without noticing: “I, as a matter of fact, have a free schedule tomorrow.”

“Really?” Chloe asked, not quite believing him. “YOU are offering to look after Trixie? The whole day?”

“Tho WHOLE- … of course, detective.”

“Can I, mommy? Please, please?” Trixie begged. “Can I go with Lucifer?”

“See, she likes me better than him,” Lucifer pointed out.

Chloe wanted to roll her eyes. He was acting like someone wanted to take his favorite toy away. Again. (With the favorite toy being her – that was a disturbing thought...) This had to stop. Somehow. Someday in the future. Now she could really use his help: “OK. I'll drop her off at your place at nine tomorrow.”

Trixie squeaked with pleasure.

“BUT,” Chloe continued, “no teaching her how to fight, with knife or anything else. Also no bribing her and no spoiling her. Are we clear?”

“Yes, madam,” Lucifer replied.

The men left then. As soon as the door closed after them, Penelope stepped closer to Chloe. “I must say I like the new one better. He's not as handsome as Lucifer and seems a little stodgy, but I think he would suit your personality better.”

Chloe glared at her. “And you got all this from five minutes of not conversing with him?”

“So you like Lucifer better? I must say it's so generous of him to look after Trixie.”

Chloe snorted. “No, it's not. He's doing it only because Robin offered first.”

“Well, he's trying to impress you, I guess.”

“No, mom, he's only afraid that I'll befriend someone else. He's like a spoiled boy who wants all my attention to himself. And he even doesn't know it. And Robin is of course using it against him. They're so annoying!”

“I think it's nice,” Penelope disagreed, “to have men compete with each other for you.”

“Yeah, excuse me if I don't want to be the target of their pissing contest.”

“Oh, don't say things like that! You'll kill all the romance!”

“Mom, there's no romance here to kill!”

“And that's the problem. You won't get a man with that attitude.”

“I'm not getting a man. Not now and not... well maybe some day, but certainly not now. So stop this please.”

“You're an ungrateful child,” Penelope said and went to pack her things for the convention.

*****

Chloe dropped her daughter off at Lucifer's exactly at 9 am. She gave him a long speech about children safety.

“Don't worry, detective. I'll keep your offspring safe. I promise. No sharp objects in her vicinity.” It pacified Chloe somehow. She crouched over Trixie and kiss her good bye. “Be good...”

“Bye, mommy. Say hi to daddy.”

Chloe just nodded. She knew Trixie longed to see her dad, but she and Dan had agreed it was better not to take her to the prison. There were things children weren't supposed to see and a prison was certainly one of them. With any luck, his stay in prison would be short and they would see each other in a few months.

*****

They got to the elevator. That thing alone got Trixie fascinated. She hadn't known Lucifer lived above LUX and she hadn't known he had an elevator. It was so cool... But when the door of the elevator opened and Trixie saw the apartment, she was beyond herself. She actually ran inside, sweeping all the corners of the place and admiring almost everything she saw. Lucifer wouldn't have minded, if she didn't ask every other second “what's this?”. He tried to be patient and answer all her questions, but his patience was quickly running out. He'd been planning to put the girl in front of TV, so he could continue the search for his Mother, and not to answer silly questions...

“What about a fairytale?” he tried. “I bet there is one on some channel...”

Trixie wrinkled her nose. “I don't want to watch the TV.” She sat on the couch, finally, and then pointed at the map of LA, covering a significant part of one of his walls, and asked, again: “What's this?”

“A map of LA. Haven't they taught you how to read in school?”

“I know it's a map of LA! But what are the pins for?”

“Well, these are places we've searched for my Mother.” (And there weren't any left to look anymore.)

“Is she lost?”

“Something like that.”

“Are you sad?”

“Yes.”

“Do you want a hug?”

“NO!”

“Do you want my help looking for her?”

Lucifer looked at the girl's earnest face. “It's nice of you to offer, Beatrice, but this is something I have to do alone.”

“OK. So what are we gonna do?”

Did she say “we”? He was probably going to regret that, but he asked anyway, not having a clue what a human being of her age did for fun: “What do you suggest?”

Trixie beamed at him: “Let's go to the zoo! They have new tiger babies there!”

Lucifer frowned. That wasn't something he considered fun. “Any other suggestion, perhaps?”

Trixie's face fell. “Please, Lucifer, let's go to the zoo!”

When she saw Lucifer hesitate, she got to her feet (on his couch) and actually started to jump! And with every jump she yelled “please”, her two little pigtails flapping around her head like two misshapen wings. After several jumps the couch started to emanate squeaky noises (what was inside that thing?).

So, in an effort to save the life of his couch, and his own nerves, Lucifer agreed. Trixie squeaked (not unlike his couch), and jumped at him, her arms outstretched. He managed to catch her at the last moment. “Oh, you little minx!” He put her down and she ran to the elevator. He followed her with a more sedate pace, not knowing how he was going to live through this day.

 

They saw the bloody tiger babies. Then they saw hippo babies. And then they saw zebra babies. And then... well, then he stopped paying attention to the animal babies and rather started to pay attention to the mothers of human babies. Apparently it was very popular for mothers and their little offspring to visit the zoo on a shiny Saturday. Some of them had husbands with them, but some of them didn't. Lucifer quickly discovered that having a little girl with him earned him even more inviting looks than when he was alone. Who would have ever thought that... Or maybe the single mothers were just horny... He didn't really care. All he cared about was to have some delicious sex. Or at least just sex. With the hunt on his Mother and now the case he had no time for himself. He hadn't actually had sex for... sixteen days! Bloody hell, he was becoming a monk! He would have to rectify that. He had a reputation to maintain.

“Lucifer!”

“What now?” he groaned. “Please, don't tell me there are some other babies somewhere.”

Trixie pointed to the sign “The lair” at a building.

“That sounds delicious,” Lucifer uttered. Trixie grabbed his hand and pulled him inside.

They soon were surrounded by snakes and lizards of different kinds. It wasn't a nice place to be... Lucifer stopped guessing, why Father had created some of those creatures, a very long time ago...

Trixie suddenly gasped and turn to Lucifer, looking panicked.

“What's up?” Lucifer asked a little worried.

“You see that boy over there?” Trixie pointed inconspicuously behind her back. Lucifer craned his neck to see better.

“Don't look there!” Trixie yelped.

“Why not? You've just pointed at him.”

“Because it's Johnny,” Trixie said like it was supposed to mean something. “He is the coolest boy in the whole school.”

“Oh.” Lucifer looked at him again. “I'd say I see, but I really don't. What's so cool about him?”

“He is in a band. He plays guitar and sings. And he is real clever.”

Lucifer smiled. “Beatrice Decker, do you fancy him?”

Trixie blushed and stammered: “No... of course not... well... maybe... a little... but all girls fancy him.”

“You know your mother think you are too young for boys?”

Trixie frowned at him and put her arms akimbo, successfully mimicking one of her mother's stance. “Please, I'm almost nine.”

“Right. Let's go talk to him then.”

“What? No!” Trixie panicked. “We can't.”

“Why not?”

“He is in the sixth grade!”

“Right,” Lucifer replied thinking hard about how that could be of significance. “And we don't talk to boys from sixth grade because...?”

Trixie looked at him like he was retarded. “He is sooo older than me. He won't talk to me.”

“Have you tried?”

Trixie shook her head.

“How can you know then, that he won't talk to you?”

“Well, he is so handsome and-”

“Handsome?” Lucifer interrupted her. “Have you seen his nose? It's full of spots!”

“... and he hangs out with Melisa, who is also in the sixth grade. She is the most popular girl in the school,” Trixie finished.

“Is by any chance this Melisa blond and looking like an underdeveloped Barbie doll?”

“Ohhh, she's there with him, isn't she?”

“Looks like... OH! You're lucky you haven't seen that,” Lucifer commented after he'd witnessed something like an attempted kiss. It had looked wet and sloppy. And the boy didn't appear very satisfied. Actually he looked a little terrified.

“Well, it seems they are coming this way,” Lucifer warned. “What are we gonna do?”

Trixie swallowed hard. She quickly looked around her, but there was nowhere to go without risking to be noticed. Not that Johnny would have recognized her...

“Trix? Is that you?” So he did recognize her... She turned slowly, looking up at the boy.

“Hi,” she managed without stammer. “What are you doing here?”

“Visiting the zoo with Melisa,” Johnny replied, looking curiously at Lucifer. They were here obviously without their parents – it was so cool. But Melisa didn't look happy to be visiting the zoo.

“Hey,” Melisa frowned, obviously thinking, where to put Trixie. “You're the girl who bit Tom Jenkins, right?”

Trixie blushed. “Yes.”

“That was so disgusting,” Melisa continued while scrutinizing her.

“I think it was great. That jerk had it long coming,” Johnny disagreed.

“Thank you,” Trixie beamed and blushed even more.

“Yeah, great if she was a boy,” Melisa contradicted. “And looking at her, she should have probably been born as a boy. I wonder what went wrong...”

“Melisa, is it?” Lucifer stepped in, not able to listen to the snotty girl any longer. The girl in question raised her eyes to his and couldn't stop staring.

“What a little cute doll you are,” Lucifer drawled, looking at her intensely and hoping no-one would call the cops thinking him a pedophile.

The girl blushed furiously and batted her eyelashes at him. “Thank you, mister...” she had the audacity to extend her hand to him in the way a queen would have – not to shake it but to kiss it.

“Lucifer... Morningstar,” he supplied and took her hand between his fingers, slowly but successfully steering the girl away from Trixie and her fancy boy. He could give them at least few minutes alone before he couldn't bear the girl's presence any longer.

Johnny stood dumbstruck, not believing Melisa had just left him with another man. An OLD man to that.

Trixie giggled. “Don't worry, she'll come back after Lucifer is finished with her.”

“I'm not sure I want her back...” Johnny replied. “It's not like we're together anyway.”

Trixie swallowed. “You aren't?”

“No. I mean she probably wants to, but you heard her... she can be so mean... I'm sorry about what she said about you. I really think you were... are... awesome, you know?”

Now Trixie couldn't say a word. There seemed to be something in her neck blocking her words.

“Hey, are you going to the school dancing night next week?”

Trixie just nodded.

“Well... me too.”

Trixie nodded again.

“Maybe we could meet there?”

Now she nodded... again.

“You're not much of a talking girl, are you?” Trixie nodded again, then shook her head immediately. What was he asking?

“Well, it's a fresh change. Most girls talk all the time.”

And Trixie nodded for a change. Did he really asked her to meet him at the school dancing night? And what was he saying about her not talking much? Ohhh – what would he think of her when he found out she talked all the time?

Meanwhile, Lucifer managed to get rid of the nasty girl and was now standing several feet beyond Johnny. He probably heard everything, because he was grinning at her and giving her the thumbs up.

“I'll see you there then,” Johnny said with a smile and then he patted her arm awkwardly.

Trixie's world spun around her leaving her dizzy and disoriented for a while. He knew her name, he wanted to meet her at the dancing night, and he'd touched her! It was so beautiful, probably the best moment of her life, until it came to an abrupt end...

“You bitch!” was all the warning she got before Melisa slammed into her and tumbled her to the ground, clawing and pulling Trixie's hair.

Trixie screamed in pain. Johnny tried to heave Melisa from Trixie only to trip over them and end up on the floor with a broken nose, blood streaming from his face. He screamed too. Louder than a girl.

Lucifer hurried to the trio rolling around. He lifted Melisa up by her armpits freeing Trixie who, in full rage, jumped the girl immediately, putting her hands around Melisa's neck and trying to squeeze the life out of her.

“Beatrice, stop!” Lucifer yelled at her, but she didn't hear him. All she wanted was to get rid of the evil girl for good. Melisa hit and kicked Trixie repeatedly even striking her between her legs but to no avail. Trixie held firmly, her eyes watering with rage and pain, wishing the girl out of her life. And then it happened. Melisa screamed in spite Trixie was still clutching her neck. But it wasn't a normal girl like scream. It was a terrible, almost inhuman sound. Like an animal screaming for the last time before slaughter. It startled Trixie out of her rage. She let go of Melisa, blinking at what she was seeing. Melisa's neck was fiercely red and raw looking like it was burned. Severely. And the girl still hadn't stop screaming.

Trixie stumbled back, looking at her own hands, which were glowing dimly red, a heat emanating from them. She heard Lucifer's voice calling her, but it seemed miles away.

“Trixie!” Lucifer yelled unable to get the girl's attention. He put the screaming Melisa to the floor carefully, instructing a coming visitor to call an ambulance.

“Trixie!” he tried again, but the girl didn't react. He should have probably stayed with Melisa and wait for an ambulance, but given the nature of the incident he thought it better to get Trixie and disappear. So he hoisted her to his arms and started to march away, telling the people who were passing them that some animal had escaped and attacked the poor children.

He got them to the deers, the animals not interesting enough to attract many people. He seated her on a bench next to a restroom, with was successfully shielding them from prying eyes, and looked at her hands. They were still glowing a little bit.

Trixie sobbed. “I didn't mean to,” she whispered. “I didn't mean to.”

“I know,” Lucifer tried to calm her.

“What's happening?”

That was a very good question to which he had no answer. At least yet. “I don't know. But we'll find out, OK?”

Trixie nodded.

“Now I need you to calm down. Can you do that, Beatrice?”

Maybe he didn't know what was happening, but he was sure it had been triggered by Trixie's rage. And she needed to get this thing under control before it attracted an unwanted attention. He took her hands into his. “Don't look at them, look at me,” he instructed her. Trixie obeyed. “Now, everything will be all right. Just take a deep breath.”

She did.

“That's right. And another. Good.” He glanced at her hands. They seemed to return to normal. “See? You have it under control.”

Trixie nodded, still looking terrified.

A voice broadcasting all over the place suddenly got their attention: “We ask all the visitors to get to the exit gate immediately. We are vacating the zoo. Please stay calm and watch over your children. There's no need to panic. Thank you for your cooperation.”

“Bloody hell,” Lucifer uttered. He probably shouldn't have told those people that they had been attacked by an animal. On the other hand they could use the commotion to get out of there safely.

“Let's go,” he took Trixie's hand to walk her away only to come to an abrupt stop. The path was blocked by two men, one quite robust, one more or less of average stature. Only, they weren't men. Not really. Lucifer could tell they were demons (one of them even looked familiar), even with his eyes closed – they smelled of sulfur and decay. Fresh from Hell then... They were as surprised to see him as he was to see them. Which meant they hadn't come for him. As to confirm his conclusion, the smaller of them looked down at Trixie, half hidden behind Lucifer's back, and Lucifer realized why he seemed familiar – he looked very much like the wanted man from the police sketch. The man, who had kidnapped those boys.

“Morningstar,” the smaller demon rasped. “There's no need to fight. We only want the human.”

“Why? On whose orders?” Lucifer demanded.

“That is none of your business,” the demon spat, showing him absolutely no respect... If they were in Hell, the demon would have been in an unspeakable pain right now...

Anyway, Lucifer's second question was more or less rhetorical – he was sure they worked for his Mother. He would have bet his piano on that. The first question on the other hand was something he had no answer to.

“Just give us the child.”

“I think not,” Lucifer replied and bent to Trixie. “Beatrice, I need you to get to the restroom and lock yourself in. Don't get out until I tell you, OK?”

Trixie swallowed hard but nodded and ran to the small building, locking herself in.

“That wasn't wise,” the smaller demon said, and then they both attacked Lucifer.

Well, they were obviously idiots. They knew, who he was... an angel, an immortal, the Devil. A creature who existed basically since the beginning of time. He created the stars, ruled the Hell for millenniums, witnessed civilizations rise and fall and defied God himself. Even without his wings they stood absolutely no chance against him, yet they attacked...

Lucifer punched the first one, then grabbed the bigger one and simply threw him over the pen to the legs of a panicked deer.

He spotted something shiny by the corner of his eye and managed to block the smaller demon's attempt to stab him with a knife. But not an ordinary knife. It was a knife made in fires of Hell. So that was why they hadn't hesitated to attack him... well, even with a blade that could actually kill him, they were in a great disadvantage. He was stronger, faster and certainly more clever (and he had style). But the blade made Lucifer reconsider – originally he opted to capture them, now killing seemed safer. After all, he had Beatrice to look after. So, when he blocked the hand holding the knife, he twisted the arm of the demon viciously. He heard a loud crack followed by a scream, and the weapon fell to the ground. Lucifer then smashed the smaller demon's head against the ground, face first, ending his pitiful life successfully. The bigger demon meanwhile managed to get over the pen and slammed to Lucifer with all his might. It was almost enough to knock him down... almost. Lucifer kicked him in the gut, twice, then dived for the knife and slit the second demon's throat.

He turned around swiftly to get Trixie, only to be stopped by a sharp pain. A third demon holding a small sword had appeared from nowhere, standing in front of him with a nasty grin, most of the sword currently lodged in Lucifer's body. In fact he hit him almost in the same place that Malcolm had shot him to. Well, he didn't see that coming... And who was an idiot now not paying attention to his surroundings...? Living on Earth had made him incautious...

Lucifer tried to fight the pain. It was almost overwhelming, but he still managed to lift his hand with the knife and stab the demon right to his heart (yes, demons had hearts).

The demon grunted, then he wheezed “Hail the Queen”, and he fell to the ground. Lucifer followed him shortly. Of course the sword was made in Hell as well... He fell on his back, the sense of deja vu quite irritating. How ironic that he kept dying of the same wound... He wondered if Father would bring him back again. It wasn't like he had anything else to offer Him in exchange. But he hoped God still wanted him to catch his Mother. And to do that he needed to be on Earth, right? And of course there was Beatrice. Now, what was she?

And talking about the little biter... “Lucifer!” The little girl knelt beside him, her eyes opened wide and terrified. “Lucifer?”

He wanted to say something, but couldn't. His brain was shutting down, his sight darkening.

“Lucifer!” Trixie shook him, but his eyes closed and didn't open again.

 

They thought she was Lucifer's daughter. She didn't correct them. This way they let her go with him to the hospital and after they stitched him up they let her sit by his bed and wait for him to wake up. But he didn't. The old doctor, who had performed the surgery, looked concerned, Trixie could tell. He shook his head repeatedly, checking Lucifer's wound and the machines, murmuring something like “impossible”.

“Doctor? Is he gonna be OK?” Trixie asked timidly.

The old man looked at her. “Well... I will do everything I can to make him OK, again. I promise. Have you called your mother yet?”

Trixie shook her head. They had told her to call her mother the moment they had brought them to the hospital, but she hadn't done that yet. She was hesitating.

“You do that now, girl. She needs to know what's going on.”

Trixie nodded and pulled her cell out of her pocket, pretending to be dialing until the doctor left. She then put her phone back and took Lucifer's hand. He wouldn't have probably liked that – her holding his hand, but she thought it right. She didn't want him to feel alone.

She should have probably called her mom now, but she hadn't decided yet what to tell her. That thing that had happened to her before those ugly men had attacked them, had been so terrifying. Was she some kind of superhero now? Did she have some power? It was just like in the movies – every superhero discovered his or her power by some accident. Just like her... And no superhero ever told his or her parents about it. If they did, their parents would probably forbid them to use the power, because it was dangerous. And it surely was. She would have to learn to control it before she'd accidentally hurt someone else. Lucifer could help her with that. After he woke up. He seemed to know how to turn it off. So he would probably also know how to turn it on. She could do so much good with that. She could help the police catch dangerous criminals – like Malcolm Graham. She could help defenseless people, make the world a better place. After all with great power came great responsibility...

Well, she would need a costume first, so no-one would recognize her. She would have liked something like Maze wore. Maze could help her pick it up and could teach her how to fight properly. Oh, and she would need a name. A great one – pity “Supergirl” was already taken. Maybe, she would name herself after her power like Batman or Spiderman did. Yes, she was going to do that. If her hands could burn people, she should call herself... “Burngirl” – no, it sounded weird. Maybe “Hotgirl”? She would have to ask Lucifer... but for now – she finally picked up her phone and called her mother.

*****

In the meantime, Chloe was trying not to doze off. The lawyer they had hired could talk a deaf man to death. But at least he gave them some hope. They'd decided to point out at the hearing that Dan's decisions and actions were strongly influenced by his concern about his family. That his reputation had been unblemished until that faithful night, when he shot Malcolm at Palmetto saving his wife's life. Basically they wanted to convince everybody that he was a good citizen and a father who paid his taxes...

The lawyer finally left, and Chloe stayed with Dan for a while longer. She checked her phone again, but there was no massage from Trixie or Lucifer. She would call them after she left here.

“You look nervous,” Dan said. “Don't tell me – you left Trixie with your mom and you're worried she'll take her to some audition?”

Chloe hesitated. She knew how Dan felt about Lucifer, and especially about his influence on her and Trixie. But hard times meant hard choices... “No, Lucifer is looking after her.”

“What?” he yelled. “You left Trixie with that crazy guy?”

“Yes, yes I did. And do you know why? Because there was no-one else!”

“You know I don't want Trixie to spend time with him! What were you thinking?”

Chloe clenched her teeth. What was wrong with the men in her life? “I don't have to justify myself to you. You are the guilty one here!”

Dan calmed down a little. “Yes, yes I know. And I'm sorry, OK? But Chloe... that guy... there's something weird about him. I saw the footage from the Ty Huntley case – how Lucifer threw his agent through a glass wall like he was a rag doll and not a 250 pounds of a former football player? Sorry Chloe, but no-one can do that unless he's on something. And the little trick he did after that preacher had been found shot in his club? Just disappearing in a blink of an eye?”

“What are you saying, Dan? You don't really believe him to be the Devil...”

Dan thought for a while. “I don't know, Chloe. But the things Malcolm said when he was holding me in that cellar?”

“What did he say?”

Dan shook his head. “It's not exactly what he said, but the way he said them. He believed them completely. He talked about being in Hell like... I don't know – I guess like I will one day talk about being in prison.”

Chloe took a deep breath. She didn't need this right now. Not with everything that was happening around her.

“Listen,” Dan continued, “I'm just saying... be careful around him.”

Chloe's cell rang saving her from answering. “It's Trixie.”

She picked it up: “Hey, monkey, what's up?”

Dan watched Chloe's face turn into ash gray. “What's happened?” He demanded. “Is Trixie OK?”

“Yes, yes, she's fine. But Lucifer was stabbed.”

“What? Where? How?”

“I have to go,” Chloe gasped and hurried out.

 

Chloe got to the hospital in twenty minutes. She asked to see Lucifer waving her badge in case they would try to stop her. When she got to his room, a nurse was changing his bandage while a doctor was staring at some papers shaking his head. Trixie was sitting by Lucifer's side, holding his hand firmly. She jumped off her chair after she'd spotted her, and ran to her, slamming her face to her chest.

“Trixie, are you alright?” Chloe pushed her away to look at her and check her for injuries. She looked ruffled.

Trixie nodded.

“She is unharmed,” the doctor said. “But your husband...”

“He's not my... we work together,” Chloe murmured, and she took out her badge again looking at Lucifer's body with alarm.

“I see,” the doctor said giving Trixie a disapproving frown. “Never mind, I need to know – do you know about any medical condition your partner may have?”

“No, why?” Chloe swallowed and took several steps closer to her sleeping partner. “What's wrong with him? Is he gonna be alright?”

The doctor sighed. “We stitched the wound. He is lucky the sword didn't hit any vital organs.”

“Sword?” Chloe repeated. Who carried swords in these days?

“But we can't stop the bleeding. The wound won't simply heal up. He's been like this for an hour. Still bleeding. We've run some tests, but haven't find anything wrong with him. I thought he has anaemia, but according to the tests he hasn't. I've sent more samples of his blood to the lab to run more tests, but we'll have the results after several hours. Until then I simply can't do anything for him except supply him with blood.”

“Ah, OK.” Chloe looked at the tube joining Lucifer's arm with a bag of blood.

“I must say... I've never seen anything like that in my whole life.”

 _No, of course not_ , Chloe thought. “Lucifer” and “ordinary” just couldn't be used in the same sentence.

The doctor and the nurse left then. Chloe looked down at her daughter. She should have taken her home, she looked tired. But she didn't want to leave Lucifer until she knew he would be alright. On the other hand she couldn't do anything to make him better. And her daughter always came first. “Let's go home, babe,” she said gently.

“NO!” Trixie cried. “We can't leave Lucifer alone! Please, mommy!”

Chloe swallowed and nodded. “OK.” The doctor said the tests would take several hours. They could at least wait for the results.

They seated themselves by Lucifer's side, Trixie taking his hand again. “Mommy? Is he gonna be alright?”

Chloe's eyes watered and she blinked rapidly to stop the tears. “Of course. He is Lucifer. You know he doesn't like dying.” Chloe smiled. “He probably considers it boring.” He couldn't die. She couldn't bear it right now. She reached out to brush a stray lock of hair off his forehead. He wouldn't have liked that. He was a rebel in probably every sense of the word except for looks. When it came to looks, Lucifer was a stickler. It was so silly...

Trixie then told her about the attack, about the three terrible men. She left out the whole thing with Melisa, and her hands. And she also didn't say, that the men had really wanted her, not Lucifer. She thought, that they had probably wanted her because of her being superhero. So she couldn't tell that to her mommy either. She felt bad about not telling her all of it, but Lucifer had once told her it was OK not to tell the whole truth if you had a good reason for it. And she did.

Chloe hugged her daughter tightly after she'd finished her story, and silently promised Lucifer she would find out who had done that to him.

After a few minutes Chloe's phone rang. It was Robin. It was probably something important if he was calling her. It was her day off after all. She picked it up.

“Hi, Chloe. Listen, we may have a breakthrough in the case. Johnson and I visited several more people today, who know about Patrick's ability, and one of them told us he had seen a suspicious person hanging around the convent the day before the kidnapping. The interesting part is, he described him as average, brown haired, middle aged man. We showed him the sketch of the man who abducted Andy and the witness confirmed it could be the same man. We have a link between the two kidnappings!”

“Oh, OK. That's great,” Chloe said absentmindedly.

“Yeah, I thought you'd like to know. We are gonna browse through camera records of the streets around the convent from that day. I know you have a day off, but do you want to join us? We would get through them faster.”

“Ah, no, sorry, I can't. Something's happened. I'm in a hospital.”

“Are you alright?” Robin yelled, sounding scared.

“Yes, I'm fine. It's Lucifer. He was attacked in the zoo.”

“What?! Lucifer?”

“Yes.”

“He's in a hospital?”

“Yes.” Chloe sighed. Didn't they have hospitals in New Orleans or what?

“And he's... injured?”

Maybe they didn't get injured in New Orleans either. “Yes. He was stabbed. Doctors can't stop the bleeding. They don't know what to do with him but... they're running some tests.”

“Ah... OK... ahhh... I... ahhh... hope he'll be OK. I have to go.”

He hanged up. Chloe thought about Robin's reaction. It was weird. She realized he'd never told her why he'd moved so far away from New Orleans. Had he lost someone? A partner? Or someone closer? Chloe shivered – she didn't want to live through that experience.

She leaned back on her chair looking at her partner. His bandage was growing red, the blood soaking slowly through it. Maybe she should call a nurse to change it again. _Please, don't die_ , she begged silently.

The door then opened and a young doctor stepped in. He smiled at Chloe. “Hello, I'm doctor Newman,” he said with a deep pleasant voice. “I'm here to examine the patient,” he nodded to Lucifer.

“What happened to doctor...?” What was his name?

“Ah, I'm a specialist. Would you mind to wait outside?”

Chloe frowned. “What kind of a specialist?”

The doctor looked at her like she was some kind of a freak. “Stab wounds specialist.”

Chloe stared at him suspiciously. Something about him wasn't... right. “There are stab wounds specialists?”

He smiled at her. “You know how it is... there are specialists to everything these days.”

“I'm sorry, but you look awfully young to be a doctor.”

“Oh, thank you,” he beamed. “But trust me, I'm much more older than I look. Now please if you let me do my job...”

Chloe stared at him for a little while longer. Although she didn't feel any threat from him, she didn't exactly trust him to be what he claimed to be. What if he was part of the group who'd attacked Lucifer? What if he came to finish the job? He didn't look dangerous. He was tall, thin, yet well built, his features pleasant, somewhat boyish. His hair was brown, short, and shiny, combed over his forehead, and falling to his green eyes, the color of a Caribbean sea. Not looking like an average criminal. But... “I'd like to stay here.”

The doctor faltered. “Of course, but... I need to examine him thoroughly. It could be a little bit... inappropriate.”

The door opened again, and the nurse, who'd changed Lucifer's bandage before, came in. “Oh, sorry doctor, I didn't know you were here.” She tried to leave, but Chloe stopped her: “Do you know him?”

The nurse looked at the doctor and then back at Chloe like she was crazy. “Yes, of course, it's doctor Newman, our specialist.”

Chloe breathed out. She was being paranoid... And it's not like he could just walk away from that room without passing her. They were in a fifth floor. Unless he could fly... “OK. We'll just wait outside the door. Come on, babe,” she called to Trixie. Trixie jumped off her chair, kissed Lucifer on his cheek and hurried after her mother.

As soon as they closed the door, the doctor locked it and sighed with relief. He shook his head with disbelief. Did the little girl really just kiss the patient? He then put his palms together, closed his eyes and concentrated. Two more men appeared in the room, silently materializing from the air...


	5. Didn't See That Coming (part 2)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lucifer has unexpected visitors.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Let's get some answers, finally.

Lucifer felt like he was covered by a thick blanket. He could hear the occasional voices, but was mostly unable to identify, what they said. He recognized Trixie and then Chloe, he could also feel someone holding his hand, a silky brush of fingers on his forehead, and also something wet landing on his cheek, but he couldn't open his eyes. And then he heard voices he knew from a long time ago...

“Took you long enough,” one of them said.

“Well, next time you try to deal with that woman. And keep it quiet, she's just outside the door.”

Someone removed his bandage – not too gently – and then he heard a groan. This was maddening. Not to be able to control or even to see his surroundings. He tried hard to open his eyes, but they just didn't obey him...

“You better hold him tight, this could get messy.”

A hand pressed on his chest, another clamped over his mouth. More hands grabbed his legs... He could feel the strength in them. The thing he was missing right now...

“This is disgusting. Why must the humans always stitch the wounds... Do they think the skin is made of linen?”

Lucifer felt someone ripping his stitches, sending a wave of pain through his body. Ironically it was the impulse he needed to finally manage to open his eyes.

He tried to scream, but the hand holding his mouth shut squeezed him harder. He grabbed the hands pinning him down, but couldn't move them at all, the blood loss and the residue of the sedatives he had been given had left him weak. A pair of sky blue eyes were looking at him from a face of a beautiful man with long blond hair. He had hoped never to see them again...

“Mmmm,” was all he could 'say'.

“Hello, brother,” Michael replied.

Lucifer eyed the two other angels occupying his room. Well, well, they all were here, it seemed. All the bloody archangels together again. What a nice family reunion...

“Shit,” Rafael uttered. “He's awake.” He hadn't changed a bit, Lucifer observed. Black longish heir, almost yellow eyes. He looked beautiful and threatening at the same time.

“Your observational abilities will never cease to amaze me,” Michael retorted. “Get on with it, we don't have much time!”

“Sorry, brother,” Rafael said to Lucifer. “This will probably hurt you more than it will hurt me.”

Was he trying to be funny?

Rafael then removed his gloves, and spread his hands covered with blue veins over Lucifer's wound. Lucifer noticed the last part of his left little finger was missing. The rumor was true then... Lucifer's thoughts were cut off by a searing pain. It literally blinded him. He dug his fingers into Michael's hands, straining his muscles in a vain effort to escape the pain. Although it lasted barely few seconds, it seemed like an eternity.

He breathed hard through his nose, Michael's hand still gripping his mouth. “May I?” Michael asked and Lucifer nodded in agreement. The blond haired angel then let go of Lucifer's mouth.

“Bloody hell,” Lucifer groaned. “You call this a healing?”

Rafael shrugged and put his gloves on again. “Sorry, didn't have much time.”

“I don't want to sound like I'm not in an ecstasy to see you all...” Lucifer said derisively, eying his brothers with something close to hatred. If the odds weren't so against him, he would have a nice little fight with any of them, especially Michael, “... but why has Father sent you and not someone less... pompous?” he finished.

Michael lifted his eyebrows in a silent question.

“I guess Father still wants me alive to find Mother, therefore he has sent you to heal me...?” It was something between a question and a statement.

“Not exactly,” Michael replied. “There is something else. We need to talk.”

Lucifer slowly sat up in the bed, pulling out the needle connecting his arm with the bag of blood. He checked his wound. It wasn't bleeding anymore, but it still hurt a little.

“What else?” he asked. And then he remembered... Beatrice! Was she alright? Where was she? And was Michael talking about her?

“Talk!” Lucifer demanded.

“Not here,” Michael replied.

“Is it about Beatrice?”

“How do you know that?” Michael asked with a frown.

Lucifer tried to stand up, but it only made his head spin. He sat down again. He ignored Michael's question. “You know, what she is.”

“Yes. And I take it you do as well?”

“No. How could I? It's not like I've been watching Heaven's news lately. And saying 'lately' I mean millenniums. So, what is she?”

“Not here, Samael.”

“Mother is after her,” Lucifer said.

“Yes. We know. That's why we have to protect her. We have to ensure Mother won't find her.”

“Bloody hell, could you be less cryptic? I'm not a human, your speech won't impress me.”

“As I said, not here!” Michael insisted.

“If she needs protection, shouldn't you be by her side instead of here?”

“She is not in an immediate danger,” Michael said.

“Isn't she?” Lucifer asked in disbelief. “And the attack in the zoo was what? A welcome party?”

Michael frowned. “What do you mean? What happened in the zoo? I thought Mother sent demons after you.”

“Yes, she sent demons, but they weren't after ME. They were after HER. I just got in their way...”

“What?” All three archangels gasped at the same time.

“It's not possible,” Michael continued. “Mother can't know it's her.”

“Please, could you just finally tell me, what she is supposed to be...”

Before Michael could refuse him the answer again, Gabriel said: “She's a prophet.”

“What?” Lucifer paled. Was he serious? Beatrice? A prophet of the Lord? No no no, it couldn't be...

“But how could Mother know?” Rafael put the question to no-one particular and then he looked at Lucifer: “Couldn't it be just a coincidence the demons showed up there?”

Lucifer tried to think, but his mind was preoccupied by the fact, that Beatrice was a bloody prophet. Beatrice – a prophet... that was so ridiculous... and horrible at the same time. Prophets had this misfortune to meet a gruesome death...

“Lucifer, could that be a coincidence?” Rafael tried again.

Lucifer managed to get out of his stupor and focus on the question. And then it hit him: “Beatrice showed an extraordinary talent. A supernatural one. Just several minutes before those demons appeared.” Power like that didn't go unnoticed. Especially by someone like the former Queen of Heaven.

“So, Mother just followed the energy trail,” Rafael concluded.

Lucifer nodded. “She must have.”

“So, she doesn't know...” Gabriel breathed out with relief.

“For now,” Lucifer agreed. “If you want to ensure that she won't find out in the near future, you should start moving. There were cameras in the zoo. And a girl was burned by Beatrice. 'Melisa' I think. It was an accident,” Lucifer clarified. “Things like these won't disappear. It'll be all over the news in the evening.”

Gabriel jumped: “Oh, I've heard from a nurse about a girl with a burn on her neck, who's been brought here.”

“When you were persuading the poor nurse you are a good doctor, you mean?” Lucifer reproached him, noticing his not angelic outfit.

Gabriel shrugged. He certainly wasn't ashamed to use his powers of persuasion. “It was necessary.”

“Fine,” Michael stepped in. “Gabriel, take Rafael and find the girl. Heal her and persuade all the involved people, that she wasn't burned at all. I'll get to the zoo and take care of the cameras. Samael, you better get to Beatrice and stay close to her in case we fail. We'll talk later.”

“Oh, and I'm taking orders from you now?” Lucifer asked with venom in his voice. He hated when someone told him what to do. Especially if that someone was his self-righteous brother Michael.

“Not from me,” Michael smirked. “From Father.”

“What?”

“Oh, yes, I almost forgot to tell you, brother. Father wants you to look after Beatrice until Mother is contained again. How did he put it? Oh, yes – you are to be her guardian angel. Or did he say 'guardian Devil'?”

Lucifer glared at him for several seconds and then he roared: “Get out of my sight!”

 

It was taking the so called specialist too long, Chloe thought. And she had a feeling she was hearing voices... Different voices. But it wasn't possible, was it? She decided to knock on the door, when she heard Lucifer yell. So instead of knocking, she tried to open it only to find out the door had been locked.

“Lucifer?” she yelled and pounded on the door.

 

Michael and Rafael spread their raven black wings and disappeared. Lucifer looked at Gabriel.

“I walked in through the door. It will be a little suspicious if I don't walk out as well, don't you think?”

There was another pound at the door. “Open up now, or I'll break it out!”

“She will do that, you know...” Lucifer commented with a smile. Gabriel quickly unlocked the door and opened it. And just in time. Chloe was already lifting her leg...

“You are an impatient woman,” Gabriel said. Chloe ignored him and went into the room followed closely by Trixie.

“Lucifer?” Chloe couldn't believe her eyes.

“The one and only,” he replied with a smile. Trixie ran to him with an intend to slam her body to his, but stopped at the last second, eying his bloodstained hospital gown. She opted to smile at him and pet his hand gently instead.

Chloe glanced at the doctor.

“I told you I was a specialist. I have to go now, I have another patient to see.”

“OK,” Chloe breathed out and stared at him for a while longer. There was something about him... his voice, his very green eyes...

“Detective, could you please fetch me my clothes, it seems they've disappeared.” Lucifer pointed at his hospital gown.

“What?” Chloe asked. “Lucifer, you can't go home. You were practically dying few minutes ago.” And how was it possible that he seemed to be not dying anymore?

Lucifer lifted his eyes to Gabriel for help. The angel understood quickly. They needed him near Beatrice... “Oh, he is free to go. He is almost all right. The wound is not bleeding anymore. BUT it's imperative that he is not left alone for the next... twenty four hours. Just to be sure...”

Chloe was baffled. “Wouldn't it be better then if he stayed here?”

“Don't be ridiculous, detective,” Lucifer interfered. “There are people who need this bed more than I do. And besides, the food is atrocious in hospitals. You don't want me to die of starvation after all this, do you?”

“Right,” Chloe replied, still suspicious about the whole miraculous recovery. But she turned around and walked out to find Lucifer's clothes. Gabriel followed her, leaving Lucifer with Trixie.

“Right,” Lucifer began, “we don't have much time. You haven't tell you mother about the Barbie doll, have you?”

Trixie shook her head.

“Have you told her about the men who attacked us?”

Trixie nodded.

“And what exactly have you tell her?”

“Just that they wanted to hurt us.”

“Good,” Lucifer replied. “Listen, this is very important. Don't tell your mother about Melisa, OK? And don't tell her the men were after you, OK? Can I count on you, Beatrice?”

Trixie hesitated. “Lucifer, am I a superhero?”

“A super-” Lucifer faltered. What? How could that cross her mind? No, she wasn't. She was a bloody prophet, probably destined to die a long, painful death just to make his Father happy... But how would you say that to a child? You wouldn't... “Well... something like that. I'll explain everything later. I promise. Right now I need your word, that you won't tell your mother.”

Trixie still didn't confirm. “Will someone else try to...” She even didn't know what those men wanted with her... to kill her?

Lucifer clenched his fists. “I don't know. But...” he took a deep breath – he needed it for this... “but I promise, I won't let anything happen to you. Do you believe me?”

Trixie nodded without hesitation.

“Can you now promise me, you won't tell anything to your mother?”

“I promise.”

Lucifer breathed out with relief. Trixie then hugged him gently and he didn't have the strength to even squirm. He just hugged her back. “Everything will be alright, I promise,” he whispered wondering if he was telling lies.

Chloe walked back in that moment. She couldn't believe her eyes, again. Lucifer was hugging her daughter. LUCIFER was HUGGING her DAUGHTER. And voluntarily, it seemed. Well... they say dying changes people... but this was extreme...

She coughed a little to draw their attention. Lucifer scowled at her. She guessed it was because of her knowing smile she'd been unable to stop spreading all over her face.

“I'm sorry, but this is all that's left. Apparently they threw away the shirt,” Chloe said and handed Lucifer his clothes minus one shirt. They left him then to change.

Lucifer sighed. This was a nightmare. Not only had he found out Beatrice was Father's new toy, but he had to leave this Godforsaken place with a part of a gown in place of his shirt. It was so humiliating.

Chloe supported him slightly on their way to the elevator and then to her car. “I'll take you to LUX,” she informed him.

“Good,” Lucifer replied. “I take it you two are going to stay with me there?”

Chloe stopped their progress. “What?”

“You've heard the doctor, detective. I shouldn't be left alone...”

“Wouldn't Maze -”

“Maze is busy. She's not even there. And besides she not exactly a... caring type.”

Chloe sighed. “Lucifer, Trixie is tired. I am tired. We need rest and food and then sleep.”

“Excellent,” Lucifer replied. “It corresponds with my needs brilliantly. Your place it is then.”

Chloe stared at him. “That's not what I meant. But I guess I don't really have a choice, do I?”

Lucifer grinned at her and opened the door of the rear seat. Trixie jumped in and he followed.

Chloe frowned. “What are you doing?”

“Whatever do you mean, detective?”

“I thought the backseat was for criminals and lowlifes...?”

“Well, it is, but you know that the seat next to driver is the most dangerous one? I don't want to end up in a hospital again in a case there was an accident.” And he nedeed to be near Trixie in a case of... something.

Chloe rolled her eyes. Was he being serious? “As you wish.”

 

The drive was atypically quiet. Trixie fell asleep almost immediately after they had left the parking lot, and Lucifer didn't say a word. He was looking out the window, lost in thought. That was suspicious. Lucifer was seldom lost in thought... Chloe thought that the attack must have really ruffled his feathers to leave him this silent...

It all started to make sense to him. There were of course lots of details Lucifer was missing, but a frame was slowly building in his brain. Their case. The kidnappings. Mother had somehow found out there was a new prophet and decided to find him and use him. For something. This was still a mystery. What did she want with a prophet? Yes, they had some powers and some influence having the straight line to God Himself, but there were more powerful creatures in the existence...

Apparently she didn't know who the prophet was, which was why she followed the energy trail the divine power used to leave after being use (if the user hadn't learned to block it), sending her demons to the right places. It brought them to Beatrice. And it must have lead them to Patrick. He used his healing power just two days before his kidnapping. It must have lead them to Andy Brooks as well. Which meant, he had some powers too. Probably something unnoticeable. That also meant that Patrick and Andy were something more than just ordinary humans, or even extraordinary ones. They had divine powers, they were linked to God. And given their disorders, Lucifer's money was on being half angels. Nephilims.

It looked like one or two of his brothers had eaten the forbidden fruit. Literally. An apple from the Forbidden tree of Heaven. It was like a narcotic to an angel. With side affects. And to some the side affect was to be able to procreate for a short period of time...

Lucifer shivered. Nephilims were so forbidden. They were monstrosities. No angel with a brain in his head would have created one voluntarily. The result was always bad. Something went always wrong with these children. Beside the powers, which varied from mild and harmless to mighty and dangerous, they usually had a defect. A broken body or a broken mind like Andy and Patrick. They suffered through their lives and eventually they made the ones around them suffer too.

A prophet on the other hand, it was a different story. The children being completely human with a speck of divinity put into them by an angel, while they were still in wombs of their mothers. No risk of creating a monster. Which of course explained why Chloe was immune to his powers. To all angels' powers, in fact. She had a part of an angel inside her, just as Trixie did (you can't put the divinity to a fetus without contaminating it's mother too). Lucifer wondered which one of his archangel brothers had donated the divine part to Trixie...

And it brought him back to Beatrice... How was he supposed to tell her? And to Chloe? How should he even start the conversation? - 'Hello, detective. Isn't it a lovely day today? And you look stunning as always. And by the way... your daughter is a prophet of the Lord. The one you don't believe in. See you later.' - No, this wouldn't do...

Lucifer was roused from his reverie by Chloe's voice: “We're here.”

Chloe took her sleeping daughter into her arms and carried her inside. She was quite heavy, reminding Chloe she wasn't so little any more.

Lucifer followed them, his wound almost completely healed now.

Chloe put Trixie into her bed and closed the door silently. She stopped short at the sight greeting her in her living room. Lucifer discarded the hospital gown and was now rummaging through her kitchen cupboard, his naked back with those two unsightly scars to her. She still couldn't imagine, how a family member had been able to do that to him.

He turned to her then, a cup in each hand. “Do you know that you have no identical cups?”

Chloe glimpsed at his torso, trying to ignore his half nakedness and the heat rising up her cheeks. She hoped that Lucifer hadn't noticed, and smiled. “Yes. It's a benefit of living with a hyperactive child. Don't let the looks confuse you. Trixie can be pretty dangerous if she wants to. Or if she doesn't pay attention...”

“Don't tell...” Lucifer said and put the two cups on the table. He started to make them coffee.

“At least this way you'll never change your cup with someone else by a mistake.”

“And here I hoped we could exchange some fluids,” he joked, a small smile playing around his mouth.

Chloe glimpsed down Lucifer's body again, pretty sure he noticed this time... “Darling, are you quite alright? You look a little flustered. I'm not making you nervous, aren't I?” He smirked at her, but Chloe could tell it was halfhearted.

“Lucifer...”

“Yes?” he purred just for the good measure. He could tell by the looks of her she had questions. Questions he didn't want to answer.

“What really happened in the zoo?”

“I'm sure Beatrice has already told you all of it.”

“Yes, but I'd like to hear your version as well.” She then sauntered to him and eyed the small fresh scar at his abdomen.

“Trust me, my version is pretty boring. Three chaps out of their minds decided it would be fun to have a little fight. And you know me – I can't resist a fun even if it should kill me,” he finished with a grin.

Chloe narrowed her eyes at him. “Something's bothering you, Lucifer. I'm not blind.”

“Detective, have you been watching me?” He tried to bring some lightness to the conversation, but Chloe knew him too well to be deterred.

“So it was a random attack?”

Lucifer shifted uncomfortably thus telling Chloe the answer.

“Lucifer, did your family send those men?”

Ah, hell, she got him there. He swallowed hard before replying: “Yes.”

Chloe was torn. She wanted to yell at him for putting her daughter in danger. And she wanted to yell at him for being so secretive and not coming to her for help. And she wanted to comfort him for the pain he must be feeling right now... So she took several deep breaths and said, her voice firm: “Lucifer, I need you to tell me everything. Right now.”

Lucifer watched her silently for several seconds. She gave him an opening – he could end it right now. All of it. All the secrets and with them their relationship (whatever it was). Because he was pretty sure Chloe wouldn't even look at him knowing what he really was and what his Father had done to Beatrice. Well, not an option then... “Sugar?” he asked like he hadn't heard her.

Chloe shook her head. She didn't know what she had been expecting. The truth? She was so angry with him. “Right. You don't trust me enough to tell me, then don't. But I don't want you near my daughter again, until this business with your family is over. I can't risk her safety. Do you understand me?”

Ah... that hurt... Lucifer nodded silently. He wasn't promising to stay away from Trixie after all, he just nodded he understood what she was saying.

Chloe then spun around and started walking up the stairs. “You can take the couch.”

Great... the couch... What was he supposed to do on the couch? Watch TV and play Bingo? It was the middle of the afternoon...

“I presume your bartender will be back by morning...” he heard Chloe's voice from above. It seemed she would kicked him out right now, if it wasn't for her soft heart. Well, Lucifer would leave happily (OK, maybe not so happily), if it wasn't for Beatrice. And for the stupid deal with his Father. God wanted him to play the watchdog, he was going to play it. And he had to admit, albeit reluctantly, that Beatrice's safety was more important than his pride. So he lay down on the bloody couch, his feet dangling over it's end and switched on the stupid TV.

 

Chloe took a long shower. She needed it. Stupid man. What was he thinking? Taking Trixie with him when he knew his family was after him. And what kind of a family was that, anyway? A mafia? She shook her head in disbelieve. He would rather let them kill him than to tell her the truth and let her help him? Was the truth so bad then? Stupid man. If he thought that she would mind him being killed, well, he should think again... She wouldn't shed a single tear. She wouldn't come to his funeral and she certainly wouldn't think about him. At all. Stupid, stupid, stubborn man. She wanted to hate him right now. It would be so much easier. But she couldn't. He'd gotten so deep under her skin, she thought she would never be able to dig him out of her system again.

After she had finished her shower, Chloe went back downstairs, feeling better. Calmer. Maybe she was a little harsh to Lucifer... OK, maybe more than just a little... But she didn't feel like apologizing. She didn't do anything wrong. He did. Jeopardizing Trixie like that... though he didn't mean to. _No, no, don't justify his actions_ , she berated herself. They just needed to talk. Like an adult with a... guy who thought was the Devil. And was apparently watching... Bingo?

Chloe frowned at the TV. She didn't think Lucifer the Bingo type... She looked at him then. He was sprawled on her couch, which wasn't long enough for his frame, his feet suspended in the air. And he was asleep.

Chloe just stood there and watched him for a while. He looked... peaceful, young. His body relaxed, his features smoothed, his hair slightly messy. He looked... beautiful... like an angel... Chloe smiled at her own thinking. _An angel my ass..._ more like the Devil he proclaimed to be. She looked at his wound. It appeared to be completely healed, only a minor scar indicating the place he had been stabbed to. Chloe frowned at that. How was it possible, that the wound hadn't healed for hours and then it had suddenly healed within practically minutes? Dan's warning from earlier popped up in her mind. Was Lucifer really using some kind of drugs? No, he wasn't... she'd met her share of junkies and Lucifer certainly didn't behave like one. Chloe banished the ridiculous thought and brought a blanket from her bedroom. She covered her partner, careful not to wake him. “What am I to do with you?” she whispered to herself.

She made dinner then, enough of it for Lucifer and Trixie as well, but they both just kept sleeping... She didn't have the heart to wake them up. They were through a lot today.

She decided to make a few phone calls. If Lucifer wasn't going to share, she could just ask someone else... After several minutes she got detective Harrison on line, an older man according to his voice. He didn't sound happy with her request. But finally being the man of the same profession, he told her what he knew and promised her he would let her see the bodies of Lucifer's attackers. Tomorrow. She went to bed early, not knowing what else to do. And frankly she needed the extra hour of sleep too...

 

Lucifer felt something tickling his chin. He tried to shake it off, but it kept returning. He didn't want to open his eyes, he wanted to sleep. But the tickling continued.

“Lucifer?” someone whispered.

Lucifer groaned. He knew that voice. He opened one eye and almost jumped off the couch. A small face was hovering just several inches above his, the hair of the little fiend tickling his chin.

“Beatrice? Shouldn't you be asleep?”

“But I don't want to. I'm not tired anymore.”

Lucifer sat at the couch, looking around. It was dark outside. He must have fallen asleep – what a guardian angel he was...

“Mom left us dinner,” Trixie said and handed him a plate of what looked like lasagne. She then sat beside him and started to eat her own helping. And was hers actually bigger than his? Well, never mind... She probably needed it more than he, with the growing and all that. Lucifer took a bite. He had to leave it to the detective, that she didn't know how to cook at all. But he didn't mind right now. He was so bloody hungry... He just wondered how it was even possible that the child hadn't died of hunger or food poisoning yet.

“It's good, isn't it?” Trixie said with her mouth fool.

Ah, that was why then – she didn't have any sense of taste.

She devoured her dinner like a lumberjack after a full day work.

“Lucifer?”

“Hmm?”

“Can you tell me now what I am?”

Lucifer sighed. There was no avoiding it. “Yes, Beatrice, I'll tell you.”

She looked at him expectantly.

“You know there's God, right?”

Trixie frowned. “Mommy said that some people believe there is God, but nobody knows for sure.”

“Well, as a matter of fact, I do know for sure.”

“How so?”

“I am his son.”

Trixie's eyes widened. “God is your daddy?”

“Yes.”

“Cool.”

“Not really,” Lucifer replied. “Anyway from time to time God wants to send a message to people. So they won't forget He exists.”

Trixie frowned at that, clearly thinking hard about Lucifer's words.

“And since he's rather old-fashioned and doesn't fancy mass media, he send his messages through prophets.”

Trixie frowned even more.

“And he chose you to be his prophet for this millennium.”

“So, I'm something like a... reporter?”

“Well, in a way.”

She didn't like it, Lucifer could tell.

“Does it mean that I can't be a zoo keeper when I grow up?”

Lucifer massaged his temples. This child had a nasty habit to ask difficult questions and giving him headaches... “You can still be a zoo keeper when you grow up. You'll just have two jobs.”

“OK. But what does God want me to tell?”

“I don't know. But don't worry about it. He'll let you know when the time comes. Meanwhile we need to work on your powers.”

Trixie perked up. “Will you teach me how to use them?”

“Maybe later. Right now you must learn how to not use them.”

Trixie frowned again. “But why?”

“The three men that attacked us today... they weren't exactly men. They were demons. And they wanted you. They had found us because you used your power. Do you understand?”

Trixie nodded, her little face crumpling.

Oh, Father, was she going to cry? “There's no need for that,” Lucifer tried to safe them the embarrassment.

“You were hurt because of me?” Trixie whispered.

Ah, hell... “No, I was hurt because of my own stupidity. It wasn't your fault, child. I should have beaten them easily, but I let myself get surprised.”

“OK,” she said. She frowned again. “Lucifer? If God is your daddy, does it mean that you are an angel?”

Lucifer grinned. “Yes, I am.”

“But you don't have wings,” Trixie contradicted. Probably a habit she got from her mother.

“No, I cut them off.”

Her eyes widened. “Why?”

“Because I didn't want to be part of my Father's game anymore.”

“So you are not an angel anymore?”

“I...” What was he really? “I am... sort of.”

He explained to her that her powers were triggered by emotions and to control them she had to control her emotions. She simply had to stay as calm as possible. He instructed her to call him immediately, if her powers showed again. Trixie nodded to everything, her full attention at Lucifer.

“And remember, not a word to your mother.”

“But why?”

“Because she has lot of work right now. I'll tell her myself, OK?”

“OK,” she agreed. They turn on the TV and watched it for a while until Trixie fell asleep again. Lucifer carried her to her room and tucked her in. She took it better than he'd hoped. But it was probably because she didn't understand the magnitude of it all. Well, it would come. Unfortunately.

 

Lucifer dosed off in front of the TV again. He was awakened by a sweep of wings. His brother Michael appeared with the first rays of the morning light. “It's done,” he said. “We took care of all the evidence. It seems no demons are after her right now.”

Lucifer yawned. “Took you long enough. What now?”

“Now, we have to talk, brother.”

“Here?”

Michael shook his head. He took a step closer.

“What are you doing?” Lucifer asked, alarmed.

“Since you threw away the grandest gift Father has ever bestowed on anyone, I'm going to carry you.”

“Don't you dare,” Lucifer warned with a scorn. But Micheal didn't listen to him, he just swept him off the couch and off they were.

 

They landed in the middle of Lucifer's apartment. Gabriel and Rafael were sitting around, looking grim.

“Bloody hell,” Lucifer roared. “I told you not to do that!”

“Calm down, Samael,” Michael ordered.

“It's 'Lucifer' now. And don't tell me, what to do, brother,” he spat the last word.

“I'm not telling you what to do, I'm just delivering Father's orders,” Michael replied. “I was informed you offered him your services. Correct?”

Lucifer clenched his teeth. Of course Father just couldn't keep that to himself. “Yes,” he hissed and went to his formidable stash of alcohol to pour four glasses. Gabriel and Rafael each took one, Michael just frowned at Lucifer's offering. Prude...

“First of all,” Michael continued, “we must keep the identity of the new prophet in secret. Meaning, you are not to tell anyone, Samael.”

Lucifer sneered. “Isn't it a little bit too late for that?”

“What do you mean?” Michael asked.

“Tell me, brother, how is it even possible, that Mother knows there's a prophet, when even I haven't known that, hm?”

Michael just looked at Rafael, who's face started to turn red. “Let's say, our brother wasn't exactly discreet, when he delivered Father's grace to the child.”

Gabriel started laughed at that.

“What do you mean?” Lucifer asked.

“Our dear brother Rafael got drunk like a Russian sailor, while on the mission.”

Rafael put his glass down on a table, still full, and pushed it away. “It wasn't my fault. You know what happened with Jesus! I still have nightmares about him! And then Father wanted me to do it again? I just couldn't stay... in full possession of my faculties at the time!”

Gabriel snorted: “Yes, but there was no reason to send us a postcard...”

“You did what?”

“It was a photograph of him and Marilyn Monroe, whit letters 'LA' in one corner,” Michael clarified.

“Oh, really?”

“A fake Marilyn, not even a good one,” Gabriel added.

“Nevertheless, there was a massage on the other side,” Michael said. “It said 'mission accomplished. Father will have a new prophet in a few months.'”

Lucifer's eyebrows rose almost to his hairline. And then he started to laugh.

“So you see, dear brother,” Michael continued, “the whole Heaven knows there's a prophet. And you know how these things are. The rumor always spreads. It must have spread as far as Hell itself.”

Lucifer narrowed his eyes. It was still weird he hadn't known that. Especially if the information got to Hell...

“So, Mother knows there's a prophet, that he or she is about eight and probably in LA,” Lucifer summarized.

“Yes,” Michael answered. “And we want to keep it that way. Only Father and we knows who the prophet is. No-one else.”

“Not exactly,” Lucifer contradicted. “Beatrice knows as well.”

“What?” Michael yelled. “You've told the girl?”

“She asked me if she was a bloody superhero! What was I supposed to tell her? Or was I supposed to lie to her? You know how I hate lies!”

“Fine, fine,” Michael interrupted him. “But don't tell anybody else. Not to her mother, not to Amenadiel, and certainly not to any demon!”

Lucifer shook his head. “You don't even trust her mother?”

“This is a sensitive thing. We don't know how the mother would react. We'll tell her after the threat is over. And speaking about the threat... Father instructed us to recapture Mother, you are to watch over the child.”

Lucifer glared at him. “Why? Why me?”

“Because you are close to her.”

Lucifer snorted. “Hardly.”

“Just make sure she won't use her powers until we catch Mother,” Michael finished.

Lucifer looked at his brothers, one after another. Michael looked like always – his features stony, but Gabriel looked a little worried and Rafael actually refused to look him in the eyes. Surely it wasn't because he still felt shame about the postcard? No, it was something else... “You're not telling me something.”

Gabriel shifted his weight uncomfortably and Rafael stared at his feet with a wonder of one year old child.

“What is it?” Lucifer demanded.

“It's not important,” Michael said.

“You tell me what you're not telling me, or I won't play your stupid game!”

“Just tell him,” Gabriel appealed to Rafael.

Rafael lifted his head. “What? Why me? It wasn't my idea!”

“Mine neither!” Gabriel yelled.

Michael rolled his eyes. “Of course it wasn't our idea. It was Father's order.”

Lucifer sighed. “Can you please just tell me? I swear you are giving me worse headache than a cheap vodka.”

Michael took a deep breath. “Do you know how prophets are made?”

“Yes, one of you idiots visits a pregnant mother and puts a piece of his divinity into her. And it's much less fun than what it sounds like... so I've been told.” The creating of prophets was a matter of archangels alone. No angels of lower order were capable of it anyway. It required a piece of divinity to donate to the unborn child, which only archangels possessed. A great gift Father had given to all His archangels. With Lucifer and Rafael the piece of divinity was part of their bodies – Lucifer had his wings, Rafael had his hands with their power of healing. Michael and Gabriel were given the piece of divinity through the tools they wielded – Michael had his sword capable of destroying anything that lived or not, effectively wiping it from all the planes of existence, and Gabriel had his horn, which enabled him to control the behavior of those in the reach of it's sound.

They all went through creating a prophet once. Before Beatrice it was Rafael, who had donated a little piece of his little finger to Jesus... so the rumor said... Well, not exactly all of them went through it. Lucifer had been expelled from Heaven before Father thought to bring His word among humans by prophets, therefore he had never experienced such a thing. Not that he complained...

“And do you remember,” Michael continued, “the last time you were in Heaven?”

Lucifer narrowed his eyes. “You mean the time you all judged me like some kind of a criminal and then threw me out of the place and straight to Hell? Well, what do you think?”

“I was just following orders,” Michael replied, not exactly defending his actions, just stating the fact.

“I know,” Lucifer sneered. “It's all you do. Follow orders no matter what they are. But why are you asking me that? To remind me I don't belong among you any longer?”

“No,” Michael said. “I'm asking because... well, do you remember that part you tried to fight me and I had to push you through the gate?”

Lucifer was seething. “You mean the part when my wing got stuck in the gate and you broke it? So that I even couldn't get to Hell with some dignity, but had to fall like a shot duck? No, I long forgot that, but thank you for reminding me. Yet again I ask you, dear brother, WHY the hell are we talking about it?”

“Because, you lost something on the way.” Michael reached inside his robe and pulled out a small box. He opened it and showed it to Lucifer. Inside were two small feathers. Lucifer's feathers.

“So?” Lucifer asked nonchalantly pretending it wasn't a sight for sore eyes.

“So... there used to be three of them...” Michael replied.

Lucifer frowned still not comprehending why they were talking about it. “Have you used one to make a party or-” And then it hit him... “Oh no... tell me you didn't...”

“It was Father's order,” Michael said, his face like a marble.

“No, no, no. Don't say it!”

“Father instructed Rafael to use one of your feathers to create a new prophet.”

“NO!” Lucifer yelled and slammed into Michael with all his might, sending the blond angel flying and hitting the wall, the two feathers falling from Michael's hand to the floor. “You son of a bitch!”

Lucifer felt used, dirty in a way. Like he had been raped. He jumped at Michael and started to pummel him, his rage still growing.

“Lucifer, stop!” Gabriel yelled behind him, but Lucifer didn't listen. He felt betrayed, again, by his own family, again. And it hurt. A lot.

Michael didn't fight him off immediately, but after several seconds of Lucifer's furious beating he had enough. He stopped Lucifer's fist with his hand and kicked him hard. Lucifer fell to the floor. He was so bloody weak without his wings compared to his brothers.

“That's enough!” Michael roared. “We're not here to fight you, Samael!”

“WHY?!” Lucifer cried. “Why would He do that?”

“We don't know,” Gabriel answered. “Maybe, it was just your turn, nothing more.”

Lucifer clenched his fists and teeth in an attempt to control his fury. He could feel tears of rage running down his cheeks.

And what about Chloe? Was meeting her a coincidence? Or was it a part of His twisted plan?

“Take hold of yourself, Samael,” Michael said calmly. Oh, how Lucifer hated his stoicism! “We need you to look after the girl. Don't forget you promised to follow Father's orders. I'll keep an eye on her for a day or two until we are sure Mother doesn't know her name. Then it's only up to you. Fare well, brother, I'll see you soon.” Michael then took off, disappearing in a blink of an eye, leaving Lucifer with Gabriel and Rafael.

“I'm sorry, Lucifer,” Rafael whispered. “I just... well... I followed the orders. But I didn't like it. It was actually one of the reasons I got so drunk during the mission.”

“Did Father arranged my meeting with the detective?” Lucifer asked silently.

“What?” Rafael couldn't hear him.

“Did Father arranged my meeting with the girl's mother?” Lucifer repeated, louder now.

“I don't know,” Rafael replied, sounding honest.

“Does it matter?” Gabriel asked.

Lucifer laughed. Did it matter? Did it matter they had become friends? Did it matter that in her need he had sworn obedience to his Father in exchange for her protection? If he hadn't met her, he wouldn't have pledged to follow His wishes, now would he?

“I suppose it doesn't anymore,” Lucifer whispered despite his thoughts and got to his feet.

Rafael picked up the feathers from the floor and handed them to Lucifer. “Father wants you to have them.”

“Does He now? And what exactly does He want me to do with them?”

“He didn't say. It's up to you,” Rafael informed him and unfolded his black wings. “We have to go now. We still have Mother to catch. But we'll stay in touch. You know how to call us if you need us.”

And they too disappeared in a blink of an eye.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm not a religious person and I don't exactly know the Bible. So any angles I use in the story are just characters of my story, I only borrowed the names and the very little I think I know about them. I just felt it needed to be said. And I'm going to end up in Hell anyway... :)


	6. Conversations With the Devil

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lucifer has a difficult decision to make.

_Chloe was standing in a cold hangar, a gun in her hand. She was pointing it at Lucifer, who looked like a marble statue. No expression on his face, a dullness in his eyes._

_A sneering voice whispered to her ear from behind. “Kill him, Decker. If you do that, I'll let you and your child go.”_

_Chloe trembled. She couldn't do that. Or could she?_

“ _You know, he is just a nuisance, really.”_

_Chloe shook her head. She pleaded Lucifer with her eyes to do something. His stony face finally moved. “Come on, detective, you know the drill. You've done that before. Just pull the trigger and we can all go home.”_

“ _No,” Chloe whispered._

“ _It's not like I can die, anyway,” Lucifer smirked, but it didn't reached his eyes. Chloe could see past his act – he was afraid._

“ _If you not do that,” Malcolm drawled, “I'll kill you and then your daughter.”_

_Chloe felt Malcolm's gun barrel being pushed to her skull. “Do it!” he yelled._

“ _NO!” she cried desperately. And then she heard a gun shot..._

 

Chloe woke up with a start. Her sheets were wet with her sweat, her body shivering. Again. She looked at the clock, it was few minutes after seven. She got up slowly on shaky legs and went downstairs. She needed to put things right with Lucifer. She was cruel to him yesterday. And she didn't do cruel.

But he was gone. Her living room was empty, the blanket left haphazardly on her couch.

Chloe sighed. It was her fault anyway, she had told him to leave and he'd just obeyed her. For a change...

She went to her daughter's room. Opening the door slightly she checked on Trixie, who was sleeping soundly, sprawled on her bed.

She had almost two hours before the babysitter arrived. A long shower it was then...

*****

Lucifer glared at the two small pearly white feathers in his hand. He wasn't stupid, he knew exactly what his Father wanted. He felt like being gripped in a huge fist, which was slowly closing around him, crushing him like an insect.

And what about Chloe? And Beatrice? What would become of them? They were just an insect to his Father too. Two little puppets to play in his theater.

He went to his stash of alcohol and grabbed a bottle of the most expensive scotch he had. He opened it and drank straight from the bottle, not bothering to pour the translucent liquid into a glass. He took five gulps at once. No need to be modest. He needed to get drunk and to do it he needed to empty several of these bottles. Suddenly he could understand Rafael's need to get roaring drunk before he'd turned unborn Beatrice to a bloody prophet.

So none of it was a coincidence. Meeting Chloe was part of his Father's plan. Like everything else, probably.

“You fucking bastard!” Lucifer yelled into the emptiness of his apartment. “You like it, don't you? Making people to dance to your false tune! Why? WHY did you do that? Why them?”

No-one answered him. But Lucifer knew the answer. It was so bloody obvious he was mad at himself for not seeing it sooner. God wanted him in line. Docile like all His other angels. And if it couldn't be done directly, He employed this scheme. He let him befriend the detective, and her little biter too. He waited until he cared for them enough to manipulate him to his will. So he would promise to obey Him...

Lucifer felt sick. He took another long swallow from the bottle. After everything he had done to be free... after leaving Hell, severing his wings and then finally burning them, showing God his middle finger... He was almost free... for several weeks. Now he felt like he was being pulled back. Like a puppet on a string...

The cruel thing was that it all looked like his own decision. Even now it seemed he had a choice. It seemed it was up to him what he would do with his feathers. But it really wasn't. If he was to protect Chloe and Beatrice, he would need all his strength. The truth be told he even didn't know if it would work. Even the small feathers held great powers within, one of them being the power of healing. But if they would restore his wings or just smooth his scars, he had no idea. In the first scenario he would get what he needed, in the second scenario he would be more handsome (it always gets handy). There was actually a third scenario, Lucifer could think of – the universe would explode. After all, he would be playing with a power more or less equal to several nukes, trying to recreate the source of it by the product. And how crazy was that? Anyway if the third scenario happened he at least wouldn't have to worry about anything anymore.

He took another long swallow of his scotch, emptying the bottle in a record time. Then he grabbed another one from his stash and moved to his bathroom. He didn't want to make a mess in his apartment if the explosion instead of healing was to happen.

He seated himself on a toilet, still half naked (his hospital gown left at Chloe's), facing a mirror with another one behind his back. He could see his back and the scars clearly.

*****

Chloe managed to leave her house early, convincing the babysitter to come sooner. She had an errand before she got to the precinct. She had called detective Harrison again, arranging a meeting with him. She had promised Lucifer to find the ones responsible for the attack. And although he had been unconscious at the time, she kept her promises.

Detective Harrison was an older, somewhat corpulent man with booming voice and clear opinions. One of them was 'always help a college, even from another precinct', for which Chloe was grateful.

“An interesting case, that,” the detective said. “Is your partner, Mr. Morningstar – is it? – some special op?”

“No, why would you ask that?”

Detective Harrison furrowed his brows. “Well, he took on three men. Armed men. And he's the one who lived. I thought maybe he was member of a SWAT team or something like that.”

Chloe giggled. She couldn't help herself. But imagining Lucifer being part of such a unit was beyond ridiculous. The man probably didn't even know the word 'discipline'. “Sorry... ah, no. He's not. He owns a bar.”

Detective Harrison scratched his skull. “Well, I've heard of several guys who learned a thing or two in bars...”

“I'm sorry, detective, but can you tell me, what you have so far?” Chloe asked with as much politeness as she was capable of.

“Not much,” the detective heaved a sigh. “The zoo was being evacuated at the time of the attack because of an escaped animal. There was a chaos, people minded themselves and not what was going on around them. But there were several cameras. It was quite a fight I tell you. I also want to visit Mr. Morningstar today to get his statement of the event if he's recovered enough.”

Mr. Harrison sat to his computer and opened the file. He jerked – it was empty. All his notes, all the reports and even the footage from the cameras were gone. “What the fuck?” he swore.

“What?” Chloe asked.

“It's all gone. Everything.” He rose to his feet and started to march to the evidence room. Chloe followed him. He asked the policeman serving in the evidence room for all the material to the case.

“Ah,” the man stammered after he'd checked, “it's not here.”

“What?” Harrison boomed.

“It's gone.”

“Gone where? Someone took it?” he demanded.

“No. No-one took it. It's just disappeared.”

“How can an evidence just disappear? Isn't it your job to look after it?”

The man cringed. “I'm sorry, but I'm here since 6 am. I haven't even visited a bathroom. And I swear no-one has come for it.”

Detective Harrison was turning red. “Find out what happened!” He then spun on his heel and almost ran from the room, through a hallway and into another room labeled 'morgue'. Chloe followed at his heels.

“I want to see the bodies from the Morningstar case!” Harrison yelled at the alarmed doctor. The man swiftly opened a small door of one container and pulled out the table. It was empty.

“What...?” the doctor drawled, confused.

Harrison opened the other two containers – they were empty too. “How the fuck did this happen?”

The doctor just shrugged his shoulders. “This is not possible.”

Harrison fumed and ran out of the morgue. Chloe followed him.

“This is impossible. This can't be. Things like that don't happen.”

“What are you going to do with the case?” Chloe asked.

“What case?” Harrison yelled. “If there are no bodies and no evidence, then there is no case!”

“But...” Chloe protested.

“Listen, lady, I'll do my best to find out who the fuck stole my evidence and my corpses. But if they managed to get here unnoticed I sincerely doubt they left any clues behind. I don't know what's so important about this or who your Mr. Morningstar is, but if I were you, I wouldn't expect to solve this mystery.”

Chloe blinked several times. How could have this happened? Obviously her precinct wasn't the only one with some issues. She left and moved to her own police station. Before she got there she dialed Lucifer's number. He had a right to know what was going on.

*****

Lucifer heard his cell ring in his pocket. He pulled it out and looked at the screen. Chloe. No, no, no. He was in no mood or shape to talk to her right now. He was almost at the bottom of his second bottle. If he was a human he would be already dead. He put his cell back to his pocket ignoring his detective.

He slowly rose from the toilet and walked on unsteady legs to get another bottle. He took two, just in case, and then returned to his post on the bowl.

He still didn't feel drunk enough to do what was required of him. He thought about Chloe. What would she do in his place? Well, the answer was obvious – she would do anything necessary to protect her child. And technically, Beatrice was his child too. By a small piece. A very tiny piece. Even so, it was a disturbing thought. Beatrice Decker had something from HIM. Lucifer shivered. He hoped it was a really very small piece. Microscopic. He really didn't want to play her father... “Bloody hell,” Lucifer murmured realizing another thing – he had a child with Chloe AND bloody detective Douche! Being an angel he had never experienced vomiting, but this was certainly the closest he had ever got to it.

Lucifer sighed. He was wasting time. There really wasn't any other option. He was trapped. Since the beginning of his existence, it seemed.

His cell rang again. It was Chloe again. This time he decided to answer it.

“Detectiiive...” he drawled.

“Lucifer? Are you alright?”

“Worried about me, are you, love?”

“Well, yes. You disappeared from my house without saying good bye and then didn't pick up my call.”

“Yes, well, my life isn't only about youuu. It's also about...” Lucifer paused. What was his life about? “Fun,” he finished lamely.

“Listen, I spoke to detective Harrison who is investigating your case...”

“My case?” Lucifer sniggered. “I have a case...”

“Yes, about it... someone stole all the evidence.”

Lucifer sighed. Michael. He had done what was necessary. He had destroyed all the evidence pointing at Trixie. “Of course he did.”

“Wait, what? You know who did it?”

“Mhm,” he singsonged and leaned his head against the wall.

“Who was it? Was it someone of that crazy family of yours?”

“Yeah.”

“Who?”

“Sorry, detectiiive. I can't tell. I promised. It's super secret.”

“Lucifer? You sound funny... Are you... drunk?”

“I bloody hope so!”

“At 11 in the morning?!”

“Is there a law against it? Please say there is. I sooo love to break laws.”

Chloe didn't answer his question. Instead she asked: “Is it because of what I said yesterday? About not wanting you near Trixie? I'm sorry, OK, but I can't risk Trixie's safety.”

“I know, detective.” Lucifer pressed the heel of his hand to his forehead. The alcohol was doing its magic, but it still seemed not to be enough. “I won't let anything happen to her, I promise,” he said weakly. “Please, detective, trust me on this.”

Chloe thought for a moment. “I do trust you. But I ask the same of you. Can't you trust me enough to tell me what's going on?”

Lucifer sighed. “Sorry, love, but I promised a certain saint, I wouldn't. At least not now.”

“But maybe I can help you.”

“You can't, detectiiive.”

“Is it so bad, then?”

“Ah, probably worse.”

“Will they try to hurt you again?”

Lucifer sighed again. “Probably not. But even if they try, I'll be ready. Don't worry, love.” Lucifer eyed the feathers lying on the bathroom floor contemplatively.

“Can you tell me at least something? Anything?”

Lucifer considered her question for a moment. Chloe needed to know something. She hated being kept in a dark. He knew that... But there wasn't much to tell her without spilling the secret he had sworn to keep.

Chloe waited. Lucifer was silent for several seconds. She tapped her foot impatiently, sitting at her desk at the precinct. She spotted Robin coming her way.

“Hey, Chloe, detective Johnson called. She's on her way here. She wants to discuss our next move.”

Before Chloe managed to answer, Lucifer's voice boomed from her phone, almost destroying her eardrum: “Is that the bloody Mr. Proper?!”

Several people around her snickered, clearly hearing Lucifer's outburst. Robin smiled and yelled back: “Yes, it's me. I'm glad you're OK, Mr. Improper!” Chloe swiftly decreased the volume of her cell, saying “hang on” before Lucifer could say anything else.

She stared at Robin with reproach. “That wasn't necessary.”

Robin shrugged and broadened his smile.

“Did Johnson say at what time she'd arrive?” Chloe asked him.

“In about twenty minutes,” Robin replied.

“OK.” Chloe got up from her chair and quickly moved to a toilet, locking herself inside the small room. She needed privacy for this conversation. She increased the volume of her cell back to normal, Lucifer's voice incessantly repeating “detectiiive” slowly rising.

“Yes, yes, I'm here, Lucifer.”

“What was that all about?” he demanded.

“It was about our case, remember? One dead nun and two missing boys?”

Oh, yes, Lucifer did remember. But what was the point continuing the investigation? He himself killed those demons who had killed sister Eunice and kidnapped the boys. And as to the boys... well they were probably dead too. Mother must have soon discovered they hadn't been the prophets but bloody nephilims, and she had most likely killed them. They were of no use to her. But he couldn't tell that to the detective, now could he?

“ Lucifer?” Chloe asked when there was no reaction. “Are you still with us on this case?”

“Maybe we should leave it to detective Johnson. Let her find the boys. We are after all homicide detectives.”

“And what about sister Eunice? Doesn't she deserve justice?”

“Well, you know what Mother Superior said. Sister Eunice is with my Dad now. And according to some it's a great win. I, of course, disagree.”

Chloe sighed. “Lucifer, please could you just leave the God out of our case?”

Lucifer laughed soundly, almost hysterically. “Oh, I wish, darling, I wish.”

Chloe sat down on the closed toilet. She so wanted to know... What made a person to not only change his name but also take another persona? And the Devil's to that? “What did they do to you, Lucifer? Your family... what did they do?” she whispered, not really awaiting the answer.

Lucifer took a long swallow of... a rum it seemed. He surprised Chloe by answering: “Well, they punished me for not being like the rest of them. I just wanted to be free, detective. To make my own way in life. And I wanted that for you humans too. To be able to choose. So I did, what I did. But Father disagreed. He likes obedience, my great Father. So He banished me, sent me to Hell. He said that if I wanted to make my own way, there was a great place for me. I could rule it for all eternity. And He abandoned me to do it. They all abandoned me,” he finished, sounding hurt.

“I'm so sorry, Lucifer.”

“Don't be,” Lucifer replied, his voice turning somewhat sweet. “If it hadn't happened, you wouldn't have met me, detectiiive.”

Chloe smiled. “Yes, what would my life be without you...”

“Hm, probably solving boooring cases one after another, all on your own, and suffering the presence of your ex constantly trying to get back into you knickers.”

“And it's of course so much better it's YOU who's trying to get into my... knickers...” she opposed sarcastically.

“I'm glad you finally realize,” Lucifer said, ignoring Chloe's sarcastic tone, “that I'm so much BETTER than your lousy ex.”

“Better in what? Seducing women? Well, you haven't seduced me.” Chloe winced. It probably wasn't wise to say that.

Lucifer laughed. “Is that a challenge, detectiiive?”

“No, no, certainly NOT!” Chloe chuckled. This was so silly. She was sitting on a toilet bowl, having a completely ridiculous conversation with a drunken man, while there was a case she was supposed to be solving.

“So you give up without a fight?” Lucifer goaded her.

“I never give up, Lucifer.”

“I know that, detectiiive,” he drawled, his voice lascivious, “that's what makes it fun.”

“On anything,” Chloe finished ignoring the second part of Lucifer's sentence. “That includes you.”

“Oh? You want to try to save my black soul?”

Chloe snorted. “Something like that... So please, just put yourself together, and when you are ready, let me help you with your family problems. Everything can be solved, Lucifer.”

“Right,” Lucifer said not sounding convinced. “I have to go now, detectiiive. I have things to do. I'm just taking the day off of the police hard work.”

Chloe clenched her fist. They had too many days off and not getting anywhere with the case, it seemed to her. And the longer it was since the kidnapping the more likely it was they wouldn't find the boys at all. But she couldn't blame Lucifer. He was almost killed yesterday, he certainly needed a day for himself. Plus he was in no shape to help them anyway, being completely drunk. “OK. You do whatever you have to do and join us again tomorrow. Bye, Lucifer.”

“Bye, detectiiive.”

 

Lucifer let his phone fall to the floor. The alcohol was now flowing through his system in full stream. But he felt actually quite calm. Which was weird considering what he was about to do. He picked up his feathers and hoping the universe wouldn't end, he placed them both over his scars at the same time, both his arms in an awkward angle.

Nothing happened for several seconds making Lucifer think there was a fourth scenario - 'nothing happening'. But then he saw a soft, golden light, slowly growing and filling his bathroom with its brilliance. And then he felt the warmth. It was soothing, it felt like his Father's hands were touching him again. But then it changed. The warmth, still increasing, became uncomfortable, and then painful, burning his back like a torch. Lucifer screamed and released the feathers. But they didn't fall. They stayed on his scars, their energy still increasing, quickly sending Lucifer to agony. He fell on his knees, and soon was bent double with pain, scratching the floor with his nails. Yet the burning still increased until it was unbearable, sending him to a sweet oblivion.

*****

“Lucifer!” Maze yelled. There was no answer. She'd searched the whole LUX and was now in his apartment.

“He's here,” Amenadiel called from Lucifer's bathroom. Maze walked in not believing her eyes. Her boss was sprawled on his back on the floor, three empty bottles around him.

“Looks like he had a wonderful day,” Amenadiel uttered. Maze knelt next to him and shook him strongly.

“Wha...?” Lucifer woke up with a start. “Mazikeen,” he drawled, looking confused. “What are you doing here?”

“Looking for you,” she answered, her tone angry. “You didn't pick up your phone.” Lucifer looked at his cell phone – 17 missed calls. From Maze.

“Ah, sorry, love, was busy.”

“We can see that,” Amenadiel retorted. “Have you forgotten that we still have the Queen of Heaven to catch? Maybe it would get faster if you land us a hand.”

Lucifer frowned at him. He might still be drunk, but even in this state he could smell the scent of sex coming from them both. “And you both were of course very busy, weren't you? So tell me, what places have you been searching? Some dark narrow passages, perhaps?”

Amenadiel looked guilty while Maze sneered. “We must keep ourselves in form if we are to face your Mother.”

“Right,” Lucifer drawled. “Why don't you both go do your exercise somewhere else and leave me alone for a change! It's not like you live here, is it?”

Amenadiel cursed and left immediately. He had enough. The never ending search for their Mother and Lucifer's pushy comments. And then there was Maze, always initiating sex but never talking about it nor their relationship. If it was a relationship... He wanted to return to Heaven, he really did, but he didn't dare. Not at least until he helped to catch their Mother to improve his standing. He was probably on some blacklist if Father had one.

Maze shook her head at Lucifer. “It's because of that detective of yours, isn't it? This case you have... Amenadiel is right. You should be out there helping us find the Queen, not solving some trifling human problem.”

“Have you finished, Maze?”

“Yes,” she hissed. “There's really no need to say anything else.” She nodded at his pathetic appearance.

“Good, then you can leave too,” Lucifer snapped at her.

Maze didn't need to hear it twice. She left him to his devices.

Lucifer waited until they were both gone and only then he stood up slowly, his head pounding, looking at his back in the mirror. The scars were gone and the once familiar weight on his back returned.

He unfolded his wings carefully, dominating the place of his not so small bathroom. They were gorgeous. Just like he remembered them. He could feel the power emanating from them, nourishing his body and soul. He had expected to feel satisfaction or annoyance or both, but he felt... nothing. The wings really didn't mean anything to him anymore. They were just... a tool. A means to an end.

And it was time to check them out.

*****

Chloe was exhausted. They had spent the whole day on the case and again hadn't found anything. At all.

She got home in time to put Trixie in bed and sat down in her bedroom with her laptop on her knees. She needed to occupy her mind with something else… just not the two missing boys.

So she thought about Lucifer and his family issues. And some issues they were! What kind of a family tried to kill each other? She thought about their conversation this morning. About what Lucifer had said about his family. It wasn't much and it was all so non-specific. Chloe couldn't fathom, how much of it had really happened and how much he'd adjusted to fit the Devil's story. Anyway Chloe hoped Lucifer would come around and ask for her help.

But there was something else that bothered her. She had always thought that Lucifer, on some level, maybe some very very deep level, understood that his claim being the Devil was just an act. But after all this time working with him she had come to believe he truly, sincerely thought he was the Devil. It wasn't an act on his part. Or if it was, he deserved an Oscar for it. He never missed a line, never showed the face of his true self. He believed completely to be this 'person'. Which meant his problems ran much deeper than she had thought.

_Or there was another explanation_ , her mind whispered to her. Chloe remembered Dan's words about Malcolm truly believing experiencing the Hell itself. And she remembered detective Harrison's words about Lucifer giving a hell of a fight in the zoo. And she remembered seeing him pick up a corpulent guy, who'd killed Father Frank and lifting him with one hand like he weighed nothing. And she remembered their first case – Jimmy Barns firing at him and not killing him. And what had Lucifer done to Jimmy making the guy go nuts? And why people told him their deepest desires, even those very private ones? She remembered trying to solve him out after their first case... why had she stopped exactly? Oh yes, because she had shot him. And he'd bled despite his proclamations of being immortal. That had been the moment she had labeled him 'crazy, not Devil'. But what about him being shot and stabbed and not dying?

Chloe's head started to pound. Was she really ignoring all the evidence pointing at Lucifer not being exactly what you would call an average neighbor? Or was she going crazy as well?

*****

Trixie couldn't sleep. She'd thought about Lucifer's words all day. And she had decided she wasn't very happy to be a prophet. She'd rather be a superhero. That would be so much better. Being a prophet seemed so… boring. She had even tried to talk to God. She had asked him why her, but no-one had answered her. Maybe Lucifer had it wrong. Maybe she wasn't a prophet after all. If she were, God would have answered her, right?

She closed her eyes and tried to fall asleep. Her attempt was interrupted by the ring of her cell. She didn't want to answer it but what if it was God? She looked at the screen. It wasn't God, but she decided to pick it up anyway.

“Lucifer?”

“Yes, it's me. Hello, child. Listen, is your mother around?”

Trixie hopped out of her bed and opened the door slightly and looked out. “No. I think she is in her bedroom.”

“Really?” Lucifer drawled.

“Yes.” There was silence on the other side.

“Lucifer, are you still there?”

“Yes, yes,” was his hasty reply. “And what about your grandma?”

“She is still in San Francisco, she will return the day after tomorrow.”

“Good. Listen, Biter, I'm going to drop by in a second. So don't panic, OK? And don't tell your mom!”

“OK,” Trixie answered, not comprehending why was Lucifer warning her about it. “Do you need me to-”

A bright light suddenly flooded her room. Trixie yelped and dropped her phone, squinting at a human like shape with two huge wings. After the light subsided and her eyes adjusted, she recognized the well known person.

“Lucifer!” Her eyes popped out and her jaw dropped. “You can fly!”

Lucifer quickly folded his wings, hiding them from view. He was sure they wouldn't affect her like other humans since she basically had a piece of them inside her body, but there was no need to prolong the influence. “Yes, and keep it quiet, we don't want your mother's attention,” he whispered conspiratorially. “Well, at least not now,” he added with a smirk as an afterthought.

“You said you had no wings!” she reminded him accusingly.

“I didn't. But I let them grow back again.”

“You can do that?”

“Apparently.”

“But I thought you didn't want them anymore...”

“I didn't.”

“So why did you let them grow back again?”

Lucifer scratched his eyebrow. The never ending questions were back again. “So I could get to you more quickly if need be.”

“So you can fly real fast?”

“Well, sort of...” How to explain this to a human, and a child to that? “I can take a shortcut through another dimension.”

Trixie frowned, apparently not comprehending.

“I can create a tunnel between places. So instead of going over or around the mountain, or blocks of LA, I can go right through it.”

“Can you show me?” Trixie asked, still not understanding fully, what he was saying.

“Sorry, no. No humans allowed. Your body wouldn't survive it.” Not even the body of a prophet, Lucifer was sure.

Trixie made a face, clearly disappointed. “OK.”

“Now, the reason I'm here is to teach you how to call me, if you need me.”

Trixie picked up her phone from the floor and looked at Lucifer like he was a nitwit. “Lucifer, I'm almost nine. I know how to use a phone.”

“Right,” Lucifer sighed, eying her contemplatively. He was trying to assess, how much from HIM this little human had inside. She was so annoying. And so restless. Completely unlikeable. Nothing like him then, fortunately... Although there was her coloring…

“Why are you staring at me like that?” Trixie asked.

“Are you sure detective Douche is your real father?”

“Hm?” Trixie frowned, her little nose furrowed.

“Well, you have black hair and brown eyes but your parents are both blue eyed and rather blond...”

Trixie nodded. “Daddy said I took after my grandma. She had black hair and black eyes too.”

“Right,” Lucifer breathed with something close to relief.

He picked her up then and seated her on her bed. “Now I'm going to teach you how to summon me in case you don't have your phone.” He took her hands and joined her palms together like in a prayer. “Now, close your eyes and said 'Samael' in your mind,” he instructed her.

“What's 'Samael'?” Trixie asked, perplexed.

“That's my name. Well, the first one. The one Father gave me,” Lucifer explained.

Trixie tried to say his name aloud several times before she succeeded. She then closed her eyes and said the name in her mind.

“Like this?” Trixie asked.

Lucifer nodded. She did it well. He could tell, because he felt the long forgotten tingling along his spine. “I can hear you wherever you are, or wherever I am. And I'll get to you in several minutes top. But use it only when you need me, OK? Don't you dare summon me if you want to buy a chocolate cake.”

Trixie giggled. “OK.”

Lucifer heard a noise in the other room and had barely time to jump under Trixie's bed before the door opened and Chloe stepped in. “Trixie, why are you up?”

Trixie gulped loudly. “I can't sleep.”

“And who are you talking to?” Chloe looked around but there was no-one else in the small room.

Trixie knew she shouldn't lie. So she didn't: “To an angel.”

Chloe sat beside her on the bed. Lucifer wanted to groan. The bed was so ridiculously small, he didn't fit under it. He had to bent his legs awkwardly and now Chloe had to sit on the stupid bed and smashed his nose to his face… Until now he had thought he couldn't fall any lower…

“And what kind of angel is that?” Chloe asked carefully. Was it just an imagination of a child or was there something more to it?

“A good one. He's my guardian angel.”

“I see. Does the angel have a name?”

Trixie nodded. “Yes, it's Sam-” how was it?

“Angel Sam?” Chloe repeated with a smile on her lips.

Now Lucifer wanted to fall right back to Hell. There they took him seriously, at least.

Trixie nodded. “Yes.”

“Is he here right now?”

Trixie nodded slightly.

Chloe watched her daughter for a while and then shook her silly suspicion off. An imagination… nothing more. “OK. Why don't you tell angel Sam, that it's bedtime now, and send him back to Heaven? I'm sure he has plenty of work to do.”

“OK,” Trixie whispered and let her mother to tuck her in.

Lucifer extracted himself from under her bed after Chloe had shut the door. He glared at Trixie for a second and whispered, “It's Samael.” He then unfolded his wings and flew away as quickly as possible.


	7. Outbursts

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> There's a breakthrough in the case. But not the one anyone wished for.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is quite emotional (and not in a good way exactly). So please be warned...

Lucifer couldn't say 'no' even though he knew this was pointless. If his Mother had the boys, they would never find them. If they were still alive. But how could he say to his detective 'no'? He had discovered, with horror, that he wasn't capable to say 'no' to Chloe anymore. Well, he was able to refuse her answers about his family, but it was for the good reasons – her own safety and a promise he had given to Michael.

So here he was, again, sitting in her car, Mr. Proper on the rear seat (at least he had sat there of his own volition), heading to meet the rest of the people from the list of Mother Superior, who apparently knew about Patrick's special (angelic really) ability. Not that any one of them expected to learn anything new. With the exception of the man who had confirmed it had been Andy's abductor lurking around the convent (thus connecting the two cases), they were all useless religious nitwits.

Chloe looked at him from the corner of her eye, again. Ahh... she was probably checking if he was ready to tell her all his secrets about his stupid family.

And the look again. It was starting to get tiring...

“What is it, detective?”

“I don't know,” Chloe answered. “You look… different.”

Lucifer frowned. What did she mean by that? It wasn't like she could see his wings… no-one could, angels included, if he didn't want them to. “You mean I look better? Wasn't aware it was possible...” he grinned.

Chloe snorted. “Trust me, you still have a lot to improve.”

“Oh,” Lucifer sighed, faking being hurt.

Chloe smiled. It was hard to admit it but she loved their little banters. They were always refreshing in the world of duty and responsibility (well, her world, not Lucifer's). She looked at him again and imagined him in a place full of fire and sulfur ruling over the damned souls. No, it was wrong. Even if such a place had existed, Lucifer would have never fit in. Maybe he was weird, but certainly not the Devil. Because the Devil didn't exist. It was a product of human imagination. Nothing more. Why had she been even entertaining the thought yesterday? Was she so overworked? Or was she loosing her mind?

After this case, she promised herself, she would look into Lucifer's background. She would find out everything there was to know about him and his terrible family. And she would help him. Somehow. Right now she had another work to do. She banished her thoughts about Lucifer and his possible devilishness and concentrated on the current case.

They were heading to the convent. Yesterday, Chloe had decided to try another approach. Instead of visiting every person from the list separately, she had asked Mother Superior to call those people and gather them in the convent. They would question them much faster this way. She still hoped something would come from that, even though Johnson didn't and had decided to try another lead. Which one, Chloe didn't have a clue. Because honestly, they didn't have any...

They were ushered to a dining room, currently full of people of different age and look. There were about twenty five of them, Chloe guessed.

“Please,” Mother Superior got everyone's attention. “These people are the detectives investigating the death of our dear sister Eunice and the kidnapping of our beloved Patrick. I implore you to assist them as well as you can. Thank you.”

There was a low murmur of consent.

They moved one table to the corner to have some privacy. The detectives sat down there and the first person against them. It was an old man on a wheelchair.

“Hello, I'm detective Decker, this is detective Dubois and Lucifer Morningstar. Can you tell us what you know about Patrick?”

The old man jerked. He looked at Lucifer with obvious trepidation. “Have you come for my soul?”

“Why would I be interested in your soul?” Lucifer uttered, bewildered. “I already have billions of them and still rising.”

Chloe kicked him under the table, while the old man started to tremble.

“Ouch! What was that for?”

“Please don't mind him, sir, he is just making fun of you.”

“Am not,” Lucifer whispered only for Chloe to hear.

The old man told them absolutely nothing of value, most of the time eying Lucifer carefully.

The second person was a very young woman, who looked like a sheep ready to be eaten. By him apparently, because she refused to even look at him yet alone speak with him. She was staring at Chloe fixedly during the whole pointless interview.

What was wrong with these people? Well except that they worshiped his Father? His name usually provoked different kind of reaction from mild amusement to caution, but rarely fear. That came after he'd confirmed his identity, not before. Had Mother Superior told those people about him?

The third person was a middle aged woman looking like a housewife from the seventies. She wore a huge cross with Jesus on a long golden chain. This time it was Lucifer who stared. At the cross. And then at the woman.

“Tell me,” he drawled unable to keep silent any longer, “you are a true believer, aren't you?”

“Yes,” the woman replied, her face like a stone, her tone sure. “I know my soul is pure, you cannot touch me, demon. Jesus will save me!”

Lucifer rolled his eyes. Why should anybody call him a demon was beyond his understanding. “And doesn't it bother you, if you are so pure, that there's basically a nude man hanging on you neck?”

“Lucifer...” Chloe warned.

The women bristled. “He is the son of God!”

“Well, so am I and you don't see me parading around in a loincloth! Which is YOUR loss, by the way.”

The woman gasped. “I'm not talking to that monster,” she pointed her finger at Lucifer, her face red. She got up and walked away. Yes, someone definitely had told them about him...

“Lucifer, that's enough!” Chloe berated him. “You're ruining the investigation.”

“Oh, please, detective. These people are completely insane. They think they'll turn into sinners just by being in my presence.”

Chloe eyed the crowd. Yes, the people were somewhat weirder than usual. “Can't you switch off your luciferessness at least for now?” she asked, hoping to achieve enough peace to continue the questioning. These people were the only chance left to find the boys. And Lucifer acted like it didn't matter.

Lucifer glared at her. “So now it's my fault they're acting like a herd of damn sheep?”

Chloe closed her eyes and sighed heavily. “It's not what I said. But... maybe it'd be better if you go.”

“Fine,” Lucifer snapped and stood up, quite irritated. He wasn't in a mood to listen to stupid humans celebrating his manipulative Father. So he walked away.

“He is right,” Robin remarked. “These people are a little… crazy, I guess.”

Chloe glanced at him.

“I mean they are acting strangely. Like they know...”

“Know what exactly?”

“Well about Lucifer being the Devil, obviously.”

“What?” Chloe chuckled. “You don't believe that, do you?”

“It doesn't matter what I believe. What matters is what they believe,” Robin nodded to the people who had parted before Lucifer like Red See before Moses.

Chloe shook her head. “Are you really defending Lucifer? What's happened to 'people with delusions can be dangerous' opinion?”

Robin shrugged. “Well, I must admit I misjudged him. I thought he was a danger to you, but now I think he actually cares about you.”

Chloe glared at him. What was it with men and their need to protect women? “So now that you've concluded he isn't a danger to me, it's all right for me to associate with him?”

Robin pursed his lips. “Well...” he drawled.

 _M_ _en…_ “Listen, I don't need you to play my guardian angel, OK?”

“W-what...?” Robin stammered. “I'm not playing anything.”

“Yes, you are. I don't need men to protect me, I can do that on my own. We don't need another angel Sam to look after us.”

“What?” Robin asked, perplexed.

Chloe sighed. “It's something my daughter said yesterday. Instead of sleeping she was having a conversation with angel Sam.”

Robin chuckled. “I'm pretty sure there's no angel named Sam.”

Chloe rolled her eyes. “Don't tell.”

“Yeah, I grew up in catholic family. I had to learn the names of every angel, and there certainly was no Sam among them.”

Was he making fun of her? “What a surprise...” she said sarcastically. She sighed thinking about her daughter then. “I just... maybe I underestimated the situation. Do you think she doesn't feel safe anymore? So she invented this angel to protect her?”

Robin shrugged. “I don't know much about children. But yours seems smart. Surely she would tell you if she didn't feel safe.”

Chloe nodded. “Maybe I should find a therapist for her.”

 

Lucifer moved through the parted crowd without sparing any of them a single glance. Looking straight ahead he spotted a familiar face, mostly covered by long blond hair. It was lurking next to the door, standing in his way. He remembered very well little Suzie, the autistic 'stamp' girl who had seen right through him. Was it her who had told those people the truth about him? She was staring at him (well, at his nose exactly), clearly absorbed by something only she could see. He thought maybe she would give him another of her stamps, something with a watchdog or a puppet on it, but as he approached, she fled.

 _Not creepy at all, this girl_ , Lucifer thought.

His cell beeped then and he opened the message. It was from Maze. Regardless Michael's order to leave Mother to the archangels, Lucifer hadn't called off his demon from her work. How would he have explained to Maze the sudden change of heart? And besides even if there was the slightest chance he could find his Mother, he would do it. Just to screw his saint brother.

 _I may have something, be in L. in two hours_ , the message said.

Lucifer returned to LUX in late afternoon. The bar was still closed and there was no-one but Maze and a man looking like a rat. He had a long greasy gray hair and an old brown coat with several holes in it. Lucifer didn't want to guess if he had anything at all under it.

“When I told you to sweep the streets, Maze, I didn't mean it literally,” Lucifer drawled measuring the pathetic creature.

Maze smirked. “Tell him,” she ordered the man.

“I saw the Devil,” the rat whispered.

Lucifer rolled his eyes. Not this again… “Really?”

“Yes! He was red and had one horn. On the left side of his forehead. And he was carrying something.”

“Really?” Lucifer repeated, now bewildered.

“Resembling someone?” Maze asked knowing the answer.

Oh yes, Lucifer remembered this demon very well. It was one of very few he had made with wings and a tail. He had actually created him to look like the ridiculous humans' paintings supposedly portraying the Devil.

“You think Azazel has joined my Mother?”

Maze shrugged a shoulder. “Lets find out.”

Lucifer turned to the man: “Take us where you saw him.”

The rat shuffled his legs. “What is in it for me?”

Lucifer narrowed his eyes. “What would you like?”

“I have three children to support,” the man replied. Lucifer found it hard to believe it since he couldn't imagine any woman to come willingly near this creature. But he opened his wallet and took out 500 dollars. The man's eyes widened. He grabbed the bill and swallowed before saying, “And I also have wife.”

Lucifer clamped his teeth but gave the man another 200 bill. He took it swiftly and then he tried again: “And a dog.”

“Oh, really?” Lucifer breathed starting to get annoyed.

“It's a big dog,” the rat man added, sounding pathetic.

Lucifer rolled his eyes and gave the man another 100. “Now let's go. And if you are playing with me, little ratman, I will sever your head from your shoulders myself. Are we clear?”

The man gulped and nodded quickly.

Lucifer took his own car. He refused to travel in the same car as the ratman, who rode with Maze.

They got to the one of the ugliest part of the city Lucifer had ever visited. The absence of wealth was clearly visible. The streets were filthy and it smelled funny…

They stopped in an abandoned street, stinking even worse than the rest of this neighborhood.

“There,” the man pointed at a wall. “I saw him coming from there,” he enunciated, probably afraid they wouldn't believe him.

Lucifer touched the red brick wall. Oh, yes, he could sense the door to Hell. It was closed now but he guessed it hadn't been so a few hours ago. Where Azazel got the key, he didn't know.

“He was carrying something,” the ratman continued and pointed to the litter container. “He threw it in there.”

Lucifer nodded to Maze. She made a face, but obeyed nonetheless. She opened the container and peeked inside. She grabbed a suspiciously looking black bag and pulled it out. She took one of her knives and cut it open.

“Oh my!” the ratman yelled and took a step back.

A nasty stench of decay came out along with a body. It was a body of a small boy, his neck sliced. He didn't look much like human anymore, but his features were still quite clear. Lucifer recognized him immediately. It was Patrick from the convent. So, Mother had abducted him, then discovered he wasn't the prophet and decided to discard him… Lucifer clenched his fists. He was seeing red, probably literally because the small rat of a man screamed and ran away.

The truth be told Lucifer wasn't upset so much because of Patrick's death, but about the thing he knew he had to do. He contemplated for several seconds to just get rid of the body quietly, but decided against it. He knew Chloe. She wouldn't stop looking. It would be Palmetto all over again. Better to cut deeply, but cleanly than slowly and never end. Being a torturer he knew one or two things about pain.

“What is this suppose to be,” Maze scoffed at the body. “What would your Mother want with a human?”

Ah, well, Maze didn't know... Lucifer realized he had never told her nor Amenadiel about his case. And it was probably wise to keep it that way. No need for them to know about the nephilims – it would only raise questions he couldn't answer. And unanswered questions tended to dig trenches in their relationship. Not wise right now.

“It doesn't matter, Maze,” Lucifer drawled. “Get your lover, go to Hell and ask around if anyone saw her.”

“You think your Mother is down there?”

“Well, she's not here. We've looked everywhere. We may as well start to search the depths of the Devil's pit.”

Maze nodded and disappeared.

Lucifer couldn't understand how it was possible Azazel had brought the boy FROM Hell. Humans could enter Hell or Heaven solely as souls, no bodies allowed. They were too fragile to withstand the conditions of these dimensions. Maybe Mother had found a way how to make it happen? Or maybe he had underestimated the bodies of prophets and nephilims. It's not like he understood their capabilities fully. They were both pretty rare creatures after all. Appearing once in a millennium (well except the TWO nephilims in this case, which was even rarer). But still – why to risk it and take them to Hell? Or maybe Mother didn't need the prophet alive? Maybe she needed only the soul? And why to take the dead body back here? Ahhh... too many questions and so little answers... But Lucifer felt he was missing something. Something important. But what?

 

Lucifer made the necessary call. First to arrive were the policemen he knew only by faces, the same people who always worked on scenes, collecting and analyzing. Then came detective Johnson, spitting curses as she walked around the body.

And finally Chloe and Robin arrived. Lucifer walked straight to her, not knowing exactly what to say or do. But his detective refused to be comforted. She walked around, asked all the right questions to the right people, mostly ignoring him. She probably deceived them all, except him, of course. He noticed her hands were trembling slightly as was her voice. Her eyes were a little too bright, her moves jerky. But he let her do her job. He knew better than to interfere with this Chloe.

Chloe thought she would suffocate. She had seen a lot of dead bodies, but never a child. It was heartbreaking. She focused all her willpower on the routine. If she didn't, if she stopped, she would break down and cry. And she couldn't let that happen. She had disappointed Patrick, she had let him die. The least she could do now was her job. To find the person responsible so he wouldn't do this to someone else.

So she went through one second to another feeling depressed and angry, steadfastly ignoring everything not related to the case, including Lucifer. She feared he would say something to make her feel better and she would break. But he didn't. He didn't say a word to her like he understood it was what she needed right now.

It was dark when they finished.

“I'll get to the convent and inform Mother Superior,” Johnson said. Chloe nodded. It was late and she needed to head home to Trixie. And she needed a shower and hot chocolate. And something else… something… she didn't know exactly what, but something...

“I have to go home to Trixie,” she said aloud and jumped to her car. Lucifer started to follow her, but he spotted an almost forgotten face among the onlookers.

The man jerked when he realized Lucifer had noticed him, and turned around to flee. Lucifer followed him, catching with him at the end of the alley.

“Zadkiel?” Lucifer called. His brother turned to him, his face white and streaked with tears.

“Was it you?” he pointed in the direction of the dead boy.

“What?”

“Please, don't lie to me,” the other angel pleaded. “I saw you in the convent this morning.”

“I never lie, brother,” Lucifer reminded him. It was a very long time they had seen each other. Zadkiel was his younger brother, not really interesting in any way. Just an average angel with brown hair, blue eyes, smaller built and red brown wings. “And contrary to believes I don't kill humans,” Lucifer added.

“But he wasn't exactly a human,” Zadkiel said eying Lucifer cautiously.

Lucifer finally understood why he was here. “He was yours!”

Zadkiel cringed. “Yes,” he admitted reluctantly. “Do you know who did it?”

Lucifer was silent.

“Was it Michael?” Zadkiel demanded. “Did Father send him to correct my... slip?”

“No,” Lucifer said, still trying to understand why had Zadkiel created a child. “Why did you do it? I mean I understand the sex part, but the procreating?”

Zadkiel shrugged. “I was in a bad place. Father gave me a nasty task and… well, I met a girl. And man, what a girl that was! She wanted it, you know. My child. She wanted it and I couldn't tell her 'no'.”

Lucifer shook his head. “You are crazy! You know what these creatures are like!”

“Just because Father says they are bad, it doesn't mean they are.”

“Be careful, brother, you are on the way to fall.”

“Yeah, I just don't care right now. I just want to know who did it and why.”

“I guess you didn't tell Father or anyone else about the boy?”

Zadkiel shook his head. “They would probably kill him right away and punish me for my love for the girl. She died, you know. Just after the birth. If I could I would raise him, but...” Zadkiel shook his head again and wiped his face. “I visited him from time to time. But then he disappeared. I tried to find him but couldn't. I came back to the convent and saw you there.”

Lucifer nodded. “And of course you thought I was responsible for his disappearing!”

“Not exactly... But you were the only… anomaly in all this. So I followed you here.”

Lucifer nodded again. He never knew Zadkiel well, his brother was always quiet and kept to himself, but he admired his guts. To admit he had created a nephilim was more than brave. Stupid probably since punishment for this was quite severe.

It seemed like Zadkiel could read his mind: “Please don't tell anyone. I've heard you are working with Amenadiel now, so don't tell him please.”

Lucifer smiled. He saw a beautiful opportunity he didn't want to let slip through his fingers. “I tell you what, brother, I'll keep your secret if you help me out.”

“What do you mean?” Zadkiel asked with suspicion.

“All I ask is that you keep your eyes open in Heaven and inform me immediately if you hear anything about our Mother.”

“What?” Zadkiel blinked. “Our Mother? I've heard she escaped Hell... Wait, did she do that? Did she kill my son?”

Lucifer nodded. No need to keep this to himself.

“But… why?”

Lucifer considered how much to tell him and decided he could tell a little more. After all he had promised not to tell who the prophet was, nothing else: “You've heard there's a new prophet?”

Zadkiel nodded. “There was a rumor in Heaven about… eight or nine years ago, I think.”

“Well, apparently the prophet is what our Mother wants. And searching for him she took your son by mistake. She killed him after she'd recognized her error.”

“And you are looking for her,” Zadkiel guessed.

“Yes. Will you help me, brother?”

Zadkiel hesitated just for a moment and then he agreed. “I will. I will help you. I'll keep an eye for you in Heaven. But if you… WHEN you find her, I'll have a word with her. Do we have a deal?”

Lucifer smiled, “yes, we do.” This wasn't such a terrible day after all.

*****

Chloe managed to put Trixie in bed without shedding one tear. She hugged her though, kissed her on her forehead (several times) and explained to her, that everything was all right. Why was her daughter so perceptive?

She made a coffee and after several minutes she heard a knock on the door. She didn't have to look to know who was on the other side. She was only surprised it took Lucifer so long to arrive.

“May I come in?” he asked civilly.

Chloe stepped aside and let him in. “I've made you a coffee,” she said and indicated the table. “But it's probably lukewarm now.”

Lucifer smiled at her. Expecting him, was she? And she smiled right back, albeit her smile was more sad than happy.

“Never mind, I believe we need something stronger anyway.” He walked to her cupboard and reached to its top, extracting a bottle of Tequila.

“How do you know, where I keep alcohol?”

Lucifer grinned. “Detective, I know everything about you.”

Chloe narrowed her eyes. If it came from someone else it would sound creepy, but coming from Lucifer it sounded strangely normal.

He poured them both a good amount and seated himself on the couch. Chloe sat beside him and taking the glass from his hand she lifted it in the air and said: “To Patrick.” Then she drank all the content of her glass in one gulp. Lucifer repeated her action.

“How can anybody do that?” Chloe whispered. “And to a child? There is so much evil in the world...”

“Yes,” Lucifer agreed. “There is. But there's also good,” he added and looked at Chloe pointedly.

Chloe snorted. “Yeah, and how much good did I do to Patrick, hm?”

“You did everything you could. If there was even a slight possibility to find him before he died, you would have done so.”

“How can you know that? What if we missed something? What if someone made a mistake? What if-”

“Detective,” Lucifer drawled gently.

“Don't 'detective' me!”

“It's not your fault.”

“It was my job to find him!” Chloe yelled back, looking at Lucifer's very concerned face. She realized then that tears were rolling down her cheeks.

“No, it was OUR job. Mine, yours, Johnson's and Robin's. If there was a disappointment, then we ALL took a part. But there wasn't. We did what we could. We did our best. No-one would have done better.”

“What's the point then? Why to even try? Why just not give up?”

“Because, Chloe, if people like you gave up, there would be no reason to live, for anyone.”

Chloe shook her head and wiped her tears with her sleeve. She wanted them to stop but they just kept falling.

“Oh, come on,” Lucifer whispered, the sight of crying Chloe making his guts ache. He pulled her into his embrace, surprised she didn't resist.

Chloe knew she would break eventually. It was inevitable. And the longer she fought it, the stronger her breakdown was going to be. It seemed she only waited for something she needed. Something she couldn't identified until it came – a good hug. Making her feel safe. So when Lucifer offered, she laid her forehead on his shoulder, circled her arms around his torso and let the damn break.

And she cried and cried and cried. For Patrick, for herself, for Lucifer's bad family, for Dan, for abandoned puppies, for all the injustice in the world. She cried until there were no tears left, and then she cried some more.

Lucifer held her for what seemed like hours until she was spent. Her sobbing turned to deep breathing, indicating she had fallen asleep. He gathered her carefully into his arms and carried her to her bedroom. He had hoped to visit this room in better circumstances…

He laid her on the bed and took off her shoes. He managed to cover her without waking her. Well, almost… “Lucifer?” she breathed silently and managed to grab his hand with her eyes closed.

“Yes?” he whispered as not to disturb her half sleep.

“Don't leave,” she sighed almost wordlessly.

Lucifer smiled. “Well, detective, you-” And she snored... No need to finish his perfect response, then.

Well, an invitation was an invitation and he wasn't stupid enough to refuse her for the second time. He took off his jacket and shoes and laid carefully beside her. He wasn't sure he would fall asleep with her so near, her scent filling his nose, her steady breaths filling his ears and something else filling his nether parts… and the involuntary abstinence from sex making the situation even harder (quite literally). But he really didn't mind. He felt strangely satisfied just to be here. With her. And in a bed… finally!

 

_Chloe knelt on the floor, the hardness of it mercilessly pressing to her knees. Trixie knelt beside her, her eyes opened wide with fear._

“ _You don't have to do that,” Chloe pleaded._

“ _Well, you are probably right,” Malcolm replied with a sneer. “But I want to.”_

_He pointed the gun to her head. “Please, not in front of my daughter.”_

_Malcolm laughed. “Don't worry, she won't get traumatized. I'll send her right after you. And even that lover of yours won't stop it.”_

“ _Lucifer,” Chloe whispered, pleading him in her mind, wherever he was, to help them. Or Trixie at least._

Lucifer opened his eyes. Was it a dream or had Chloe really just called his name? He glimpsed at her. She looked like something was disturbing her sleep. She turned to her side and in a second she turned back on her back. And she seemed to be sweating.

“Chloe?”

_Chloe looked up hearing a familiar voice. But Malcolm didn't look worried at all. Did she dream it? “Maybe I'll kill him too. I wonder where the Devil goes after he dies? To Hell? Like all we others?”_

_Chloe shook her head. “Lucifer isn't evil.”_

“ _Isn't he? Are you so sure about it? He is the Devil you know. He belongs there. Like your little one belongs to Heaven. But what about you, Chloe? Where will you go? Do you think you deserve Heaven?”_

_Chloe shook her head. She honestly didn't know._

“ _No? Maybe not. But the funny thing is that if you go to Heaven, you'll never see Lucifer again. And if you go to Hell, you'll never see Trixie again.”_

“ _No,” Chloe whispered. “Please...”_

Chloe was whispering something, the words barely audible.

“It's all right, darling, I'm here,” Lucifer tried to comfort her. He crawled closer to her and put one arm around her tense body.

 _Chloe's eyes widened. Now she heard Lucifer, she was 100 % sure._ _And right she was. He appeared from nowhere just behind Malcolm. He knocked on the man's shoulder, startling him. Malcolm turned and tried to aim his gun at Lucifer, but Lucifer was faster and his fist connected with Malcolm's nose with a sickening sound of a breaking bone. Malcolm fell on the floor._ _Chloe grabbed the gun he had dropped and shot him dead._

“ _Oh, God,” Chloe breathed, relieved._

“ _Not present right now,” Lucifer replied with a smile. “But it doesn't matter, you have me.”_

_Chloe hugged her daughter and looked at him expectantly._

_Lucifer sighed. “If I must...” And he hugged them both._

“ _It's finally over, isn't it? He's dead,” Chloe assured herself._

“ _Yes, love, it's over. He is in a warmer place. And not coming back.”_

Chloe sighed deeply and finally relaxed against him.

*****

Chloe woke up slowly with eyes still closed. She was feeling well rested and warm. Something smelled pleasantly around her. Something she knew but couldn't remember right now. Yes it was so familiar. It was like a chocolate… no, it was more spicy, like a strong wine? No it was something else – oh yes, she remembered – it smelled like Lucifer!

Chloe opened her eyes with panic creeping up her spine. She sat up and looked around her – no Lucifer in the room – checked, clothes on – checked.

Wait? How had she got to her bed? She didn't remember climbing those steps. What she remembered was crying on Lucifer's shoulder like a ninny and then… nothing. Had she fallen asleep on the man? And had he carried her here? Ahhh, it was so embarrassing. Chloe was sure she wouldn't hear the end of it.

She glimpsed at her alarm clock which gave her an alarm just by the time it was showing – 10:13 am.

“Shit,” Chloe cursed and jumped out of the bed. Trixie was supposed to be in school already and she was supposed to be heading to the precinct. Why had nobody waken her? Not even the stupid alarm clock? Had Lucifer turned it off? Really, that man had a worse sense of discipline than Trixie.

She ran downstairs and found Lucifer dancing around the kitchen, his suit jacket on the sofa, his sleeves rolled up to his elbows, preparing what seemed like a royal breakfast. For at least five royal members… And singing to himself...

 _You give me just a taste so I want more_  
_Now my hands are bleeding and my knees are raw_  
_Cos now you've got me crawlin', crawlin' on the floor_  
_And I've never known a girl like you before *_

“Lucifer!” Chloe yelled.

“Good morning, detective.”

“Morning? It's almost noon!”

“Yes, I thought it better to let you sleep as long as you required.”

“And what about Trixie? She needs to get to the school! Where is she?”

“In the school.”

“What?”

“Your mother returned from San Francisco this morning and offered to give your little biter a lift.”

“Oh, God,” Chloe had forgotten her mother was to come back this morning. “Tell me you checked Trixie before she left?”

Lucifer grinned. “Don't worry, detective, I made her change. It seemed to me too cruel to look like a cheep cheerleader.”

Chloe sighed with relief. “Thank you.”

“Now, why don't you take a shower while I finish our breakfast?”

Chloe eyed the meal. “You don't have to...”

“On the contrary darling,” Lucifer interrupted her. “After eating your lasagne I deem it quite necessary.”

Chloe rolled her eyes. Maybe she wasn't a cook queen, but her meals WERE edible.

“Not so perfect after all, are we?” Lucifer said with a smile waggling his eyebrows.

Chloe blinked. What a strange choice of words. It almost implied he had thought her perfect…

“Are you going to have that shower, or do you need an assistance? I volunteer, of course. Now that I've finally bedded you, I think I can handle to shower you. With whatever you wish.”

Chloe shook her head. She was still half asleep, most of her brain occupied by his mysterious words about her being perfect. Therefore she absolutely couldn't keep pace with him. She turned and walked to her bathroom, alone to Lucifer's disappointment.

She took a quick shower, slowly remembering the most of the previous evening. Had she really asked him to stay with her in her bedroom? How embarrassing…

She studied herself in a mirror for a moment. Her eyes were puffy from the crying. And they would probably stay that way for a long while. She returned to the kitchen. Lucifer turned to her with a smile, a slice of a cucumber in each hand. “Come here.”

“Why?” Chloe asked, eying the pieces of the vegetable suspiciously.

“Trust me, your eyes will thank me afterward.”

“Oh, no. You're not putting these on my eyes.”

Lucifer grinned and followed Chloe who had started to walk backwards. He caught up with her when she reached the wall, dwarfing her against it by his height. He tried to pushed the cucumbers on her eyes but Chloe caught his wrists, holding them in safe distance from her face. She was grateful he didn't fight her. She knew he would overpower her easily if he wanted.

“Just don't,” she pleaded.

“All right then,” he sighed. “But why you refuse these two beautiful slices of cucumber is beyond me.”

Chloe smiled, “I just don't like cucumbers.”

“Oh? Some unpleasant memory, perhaps?” he asked lasciviously.

Chloe snorted. “No. I just don't like them, it's all.”

“Maybe something else then... teabags? I bring you one. Or better two. If you let go of my hands, that is.”

Chloe looked at their hands. Sure she was still holding his. The funny thing was she didn't really want to let them go. “You don't have to...” she swallowed… oh, she was going to say that… “care for me. I'm a big girl, Lucifer.”

He tilted his head a little, his expression opened, his lips forming one of his rare, genuine smiles. “Even the big brave girls sometimes need to be taken care of.”

Chloe wasn't sure if his reply was meant as one of his sexual jokes, or if it was sincere. She chose the letter.

“About that… I… thank you for being there for me tonight.”

Lucifer's smile broadened. “I can be there for you every night if you want me to,” he purred.

Chloe swallowed hard. For a brief moment she imagined every one of her mornings to be like this. A light banter, a delicious meal and Lucifer's caring for her showing in the little things he did. A sudden longing overwhelmed her and before she knew what she was about to do she got on her tiptoes, closed her eyes and lightly kissed him on the lips.

Oh, his lips were so sweet... She lingered there for a moment, Lucifer oddly still, not encouraging her and not refusing her either. His only reaction was tensing of his wrists she was still holding.

She withdrew slowly, a little afraid of the consequences of her action.

She lifted her eyelids and found Lucifer staring at her with his eyes wide open, his expression telling her he didn't know how to react. She rendered the Devil speechless…

But then he shook himself and his expression changed. The corners of his lips lifted, his eyelids grew heavy and his eyes sparkled. All the indication he was about to say something dirty.

Ah, well, she wasn't really expecting something else, was she? She prepared herself for an obscene comment, but it never came.

Lucifer's expression changed again. It grew serious. An unearthly serious with a determination shining in his eyes.

Now Chloe didn't know what to expect at all. But she didn't have to wait for long. She barely noticed Lucifer let go of the cucumbers, freed himself from her grip and took her face in his palms. And before she could even yelped, he slammed his mouth to hers, demanding enter. She gave it to him happily.

Oh man, he knew how to kiss. He pulled her to his body, bringing them as close as it was physically possible and deepened their little tongue match. A liquid warmth flooded her body from her mouth to her toes, leaving her soft as a jelly.

Chloe was standing on her tiptoes, barely touching the ground, but it was OK. Lucifer was holding her easily, supporting most of her weight. Really, the man was so ridiculously tall… And because her toes were more or less above the ground anyway, she took the liberty to curl them both, with one of her legs hooking to Lucifer's calf. Her hands anchored in his hair holding him in place, although there didn't seem to be any danger of him leaving.

They were crushing each other. And Chloe liked it. Maybe a little too much.

He lifted her completely off the ground and walked them to the table sitting her on top of it and then lying her down, covering her body with his.

 _This is insane_ , Chloe thought as Lucifer's hand crawled under her T-shirt and up her body leaving goosebumps on its way. All her attempts to think died then…

“HOLLY CHRIST!”

Chloe felt Lucifer jerk and then jump off her, leaving her strangely cold. She glanced at the intruder, who of course was her mother, and got up from the table awkwardly, sure her face was turning crimson.

Penelope closed the door with a thud. “You know, there is a room for these things? With a bed in it? And surprise – it's called bedroom!”

“Mom,” Chloe breathed. “You're back...”

“Yes and thank you for the nice welcome. Don't get me wrong, I would love to leave you two to your exercise but I returned from San Francisco at 7 am and then I had to take Trixie to school. Don't blame me for being a little bit tired.” Despite her words Penelope actually sounded apologetic.

“Penelope,” Lucifer said, his voice hoarse. And that was probably all he was capable of saying because he shut his mouth. Chloe almost felt pity for him. He looked like a little lost boy, probably even more shocked than she was by their... outburst… “I better go. Have club to run and such...” He barely looked at Chloe before disappearing quite quickly.

 

 _This was bad, bad, bad_ , Lucifer lamented silently. What had he done?

He was sitting in his car, gripping the wheel, his knuckles white. All of his muscles felt tight, his guts vibrated and his throat was closed. He felt like someone was choking him… He felt… lost. He had lost control in there. Completely. And he never did that… Loosing control was for the lesser creatures, not for angels. Not for him certainly.

He needed to get grip of himself, to get the control back. He needed… advice. He started the car and pushed the gas pedal…

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> * The lyrics are from song A Girl Like You by Edwin Collins


	8. The Good Doctor Strikes Again

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lucifer seeks Linda's help, but he doesn't like what he gets. And Chloe doesn't seek her mother's help, but still gets one.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter was difficult to write. And guess what - it's quite emotional (and not exactly in a good way, again... sorry).  
> But this is the last "slow" chapter. Things are going to move faster starting the next one.

Lucifer was speeding down the road, his mind occupied with the events of the morning. How could have that happened? And what was it exactly that had happened? Well, something he had longed for a very long time, surely, but… he had never imagined it to be like this. So… so… different than what he was used to. So gut clenching. So muscle shaking. So… consuming.

The truth be told he was at a loss. It seemed he couldn't think straight as he had no clue what to do next. With Chloe. And it was the reason he was breaking every speed limit humanity had invented, ignoring the colors of traffic lights as well as drivers sounding their car horns and yelling obscenities at him.

He was in a hurry.

He was in such a hurry he forgot to knock on the door and simply stormed into Dr. Martin's office.

“Lucifer...” Linda cried intending to scold him for invading the privacy of her patient (currently sprawled on the couch). But she stopped after assessing his appearance – a missing jacket, the shirt creased and the hair tousled. Something terrible must have happened…

“Something terrible has happened!” Lucifer yelled, looking panicked.

“Ahhh… Lucifer, I have another patient. Please meet Jessica,” she pointed at a middle aged woman on the couch wiping her face with a handkerchief.

Lucifer barely peeked at her. “But this is important! I've kissed the detective!”

“Chloe?”

“No, detective Douche!” he retorted sarcastically. “Of course, Chloe.”

Linda shook herself. So it had finally happened... “I see,” she said slowly, eying Lucifer speculatively. She took her notebook from her desk and said, “I am available at 4 pm.”

“No, no, no, no, no, no, no. This can't wait!”

“Lucifer, I have other patients too. You can't just expect me to throw them away whenever you appear.”

Lucifer looked at the woman on the couch properly. He waved his arm her way. “What is wrong with her? She seems quite healthy to me. Well except for the smudged mascara – that is quite unbecoming.”

“Excuse me?” the woman in question hiccuped. “You men are so vulgar.”

“Ah, so it's a problem with a man?”

“Lucifer,” Linda tried to stop him.

“Don't worry, love, I have this,” Lucifer cut in. “Tell me, what is your problem?”

The woman finally got to a sitting position. “This,” she indicated her body.

Lucifer shook his head, not comprehending.

“I'm FAT!”

“Oh! Right!”

“Lucifer,” Linda tried again, stepping in front of him.

“Tss, tss, tss, just wait for your turn, love,” he admonished her like a baby, took her by her arms and moved her back to her desk.

“Sorry for the interruption,” he turned back to the woman. “You were saying? Oh yes, you are fat. And what's the problem?”

The woman glared at him. “My husband doesn't want to have sex with me. I think he wants to divorce me,” she added with a sniff.

Lucifer snorted and eyed the woman from head to toe. “Really? So it's his problem, not yours...”

“No, it's not. He just doesn't want me, because I'm fat.”

“Does he have a lover?”

“I don't think so.”

“Honey, trust me, then it's his problem, not yours. If he won't have sex with you, it's because he can't. He is either gay or very soft. Do you want to really spend the rest of your life with this man?”

“I… I don't know. I've never thought about it.”

“Why won't you tell me what you really want?”

The woman sat very still for a while. Then she answered: “I want to have some fun. And sex. A lot of it.”

Lucifer smirked. “I myself would do you the pleasure but I have some… issues right now.”

“Wait, you think I'm… sexy?”

“Of course you are. Trust me, there are thousands of men who would bed you happily. So I suggest,” Lucifer walked to her and took her by her shoulder, steering her slowly to the door, “you get divorced and find yourself a nice chap. Or two.” And with that he pushed her out of the door.

“That was incredibly rude,” Linda said the moment Lucifer shut the door. “If you do something like that ever again, I'll stop treating you, Lucifer. Do you understand?”

Lucifer eyed her serious face, realizing her warning was very real. “Yes, I understand. Now, to my problem.” He sat on the couch and focused on Linda, waiting.

“So, what is the problem, Lucifer?”

“Didn't you hear me? I've just kissed Chloe. Well, she kissed me first. And then I kissed her. But I didn't want to... I mean, I did want to, but... but...” Lucifer realized he was babbling.

“Why don't you start from the beginning?”

“I better start from the ending, the creation of the universe wasn't such a fun.”

Linda took a deep breath to prevent herself from commenting.

“We found a dead body yesterday. It was a boy. And Chloe got upset. So I came to her home to provide a partner support and stayed over the night. We slept together, but not in a fun way. It was actually quite painful for me. Well for the one part of me to be more precise.”

Linda jerked, barely restraining herself from ogling that part Lucifer was talking about.

“She slept long, she was tired. So I woke up before her and I made a breakfast, because honestly, even the demons in Hell wouldn't eat her cooking. And then she came down and well... she looked...” Lucifer thought for a while, “I don't know... different somehow. I mean she didn't wear a make-up and she was completely tousled but beautiful somehow. And then I said something and she gave me that look again.”

“What look?”

“Well, that's something I've been trying to figure out for some time now. But I can't... I've never seen this kind of look on anyone before.”

“All right. Just finish the story, we'll address the look later.”

“I sent her to have a shower, alone, and when she returned we had a little teasing and then suddenly she gave me that look AGAIN and she kissed me. And it even wasn't a proper kiss. It was like those kisses in movies from the 50's. So boring. And then I kissed her back. Properly this time, thank you. But somehow I lost control – and I never loose control – I mean I almost ravished her on her kitchen table! Like some rustic wench. Fortunately her mother returned and stopped whatever was happening,” Lucifer finished and thought about his choice to use 'fortunately' in his last sentence. “And now I don't know what to do. I mean, the next time I meet Chloe shall I say 'Hi, detective, how is your table?' Or 'Don't you need to finish something?'”

Linda took a deep breath and folded her hands in her lap. This was going to be tricky. She needed to do this right, otherwise Lucifer would twist her explanation into something else. “Lucifer, have you considered that your relationship with Chloe might have shifted into something else?”

“Hm?”

“Is it possible that maybe your friendship developed into something deeper?”

“Deeper?” Lucifer repeated, obviously at a loss. “There was no sex, nothing deep then.”

Linda wanted to roll her eyes quite badly. “I mean emotionally deeper. You said she gives you a certain look.”

“Yes.”

“When does she give it to you?”

Lucifer thought hard. “Well I think when I do something she likes. But it's not gratitude. Believe me or not, even the Devil knows how the gratitude looks like. On others,” he added with a smile.

“And how does that look makes you feel?”

“It makes me very uncomfortable. My guts clench like they're in a vice. It... hurts. Why is this happening to me? WHAT is happening to me?”

Linda sighed. She just couldn't comprehend how Lucifer could be so perceptive of feelings regarding other people yet so ignorant of his own. There was no way he was to figure this out on his own, she realized. So she decided to tell him what she had known for some time now: “Lucifer, you have fallen in love.”

The room shook with Lucifer's laugh. And as abruptly as the laugh started, it ended with Lucifer's very serious face: “The Devil doesn't fall in love. There's only one fall the Devil has ever done and that was a very long time ago.”

Linda groaned. She knew he would say something like this. “The Devil doesn't fall in love, the Devil doesn't get jealous, the Devil doesn't or do that!” she mimicked him. “Every time we open a topic you don't like you rise this huge wall of 'I'm the Devil' to protect yourself. You must stop doing this or you'll never move on with your life.”

Lucifer sighed. “But it's who I am.”

Linda tried another approach: “Lucifer, let say I believe you. If you really are the Devil, isn't it up to you to decide what does the Devil do?”

“Of course it is!”

“So why cannot the Devil fall in love?”

That was a good question. And Lucifer realized he had no answer. So he made one up: “Because I'm immortal. I can't promise to a mortal woman a happily ever after. Not that I would ever do that. Imagine to spend some forty years with only one sex partner.”

“So you're saying that the problem is what you are.”

“Yes!”

Linda saw an opportunity she had been waiting for quite some time. Maybe it was time to rid Lucifer of his illusions. “So if you weren't the Devil, what would you want?”

“I AM the Devil. There's no point in 'if'.”

“Just humor me please. Imagine there's no Heaven nor Hell. No dying for anyone. What would you want?”

Lucifer swallowed hard. He tried to imagine this John Lennon version of universe and focus solely on his own desire. And something really popped out. He didn't know if it was wise to say it aloud. But he was no coward: “Chloe,” he rasped.

Linda smiled. “Now, when you know what you want, why not to try to remove all the obstacles in your way and get it?”

“Because I can't. I can't stop being what I am,” he enunciated.

“Of course you can, Lucifer. You left Hell. So technically, you are not the Devil anymore.”

Lucifer laughed. “Technically you may be right, but I am still what I am and when Chloe finds out the truth about me, she will run away screaming.”

Linda nodded. The fear it was then. “I understand that you are afraid. Relationships, especially the romantic ones, are terrifying. But they are also gratifying. All you have to do is face your fear and be honest with Chloe. If she loves you, as I believe she may, she will accept you as you are.”

Lucifer shook his head. This was so pointless. “No, she won't. I can't make her happy. And I... and I want her to be happy,” he finished quietly, realizing how true it was.

“You may be scared that you'll disappoint her and it may happen. But if you won't try at all to develop your relationship, you'll disappoint her by default.”

Lucifer laughed. “Why would I be afraid of disappointing her?”

“I don't know. Maybe because you've disappointed someone before?”

Lucifer didn't laugh this time, but glared at her. “Oh, is that what you think?”

Linda eyed him speculatively. “Hmmm... yes. And do you know what else I think? I think you are punishing yourself. Maybe for this very reason.”

Lucifer snorted. This was getting beyond ridiculous. “What?”

“You want to be with Chloe yet you won't. You say you hate what people say about you, that they blame you for their sins, yet you use the Devil's name. No, you yell it at anyone who listens. Like you want them to hate you.”

“That is preposterous!” Lucifer's voice was slowly rising in its intensity. He got up from the couch and started to pace the room.

“Is it? So why didn't you change your name when you moved to L.A.?”

“Because it's who I am. And I don't lie.”

“Changing one's name isn't lying. It's transforming.”

“Oh, you think so?” he asked sarcastically.

“What I think is that deep down, you don't believe you deserve Chloe. Actually you believe you don't deserve to be loved at all,” Linda added with a sudden flash of insight.

“Don't you dare to tell me what I deserve or not,” Lucifer spat, his voice menacing and shaking slightly.

“I don't,” Linda replied. “I only know that everybody deserves to know happiness.”

Lucifer snorted. “What people deserve and what they get in life are two very different things. Trust me, my Father doesn't care!”

Ah... his father issues again... “Lucifer, whatever happened before you came to L.A., it's all in the past now. Let it go and think about your future. About Chloe's future.”

“I am!”

“Then free yourself from your family, from your past.”

“I can't!” he yelled, his color rising.

“Yes, you can. Just forgive yourself for whatever you've done and stop feeling guilty.”

“I'm NOT guilty!” he roared at her, fists clenched.

Linda screamed and pushed herself into her chair, probably trying to get as far away from him as possible, her face covered with terror.

And Lucifer realized he had done it again. He had lost control and showed the doctor he had never been lying. He wanted to go to her, to comfort her, reassure her he would never hurt her, but he knew he'd only make it worse. So he fled.

*****

They had managed to take several sets of fingerprints from the dead body, but they hadn't found a match in the database. But at least they had something. Unlike with the kidnappings the perpetrators hadn't minded to leave some clues behind. Almost like they didn't fear to be found. It disturbed Chloe. Because it meant only one thing – they were moving somewhere they couldn't be found. And it meant that they probably wouldn't find the other boy. If he was still alive. Chloe had made herself believe that he was, because the other option was just too daunting.

She speculated if she should call Lucifer and inform him about the fingerprints. There really wasn't any reason not to call him. Except the weird morning. It was... ah... Chloe got goosebumps just thinking about it. The man knew his business around lovemaking. But it really wasn't a lovemaking, was it? Even if they had finished (or at least started), it wouldn't have been a lovemaking. It would have been just sex. Because Lucifer didn't do lovemaking. She was sure of it. She would have been just one of his 'beddies'. And then what? Would he loose interest? Would he forget her? Stop working with her? No, no, surely he wouldn't do that. They had something more, something emotional. They were friends, weren't they?

She decided to make the call. They would talk about it and solve this out.

She called, but Lucifer didn't pick up.

She called again thirty minutes later. He still didn't pick up. So she called later again. No answer. How many times was it OK to call someone you almost had had sex with, and not to look hysterical? Chloe decided it was OK to try for the fourth time. And, surprisingly, he didn't pick up. So she left him a message. About the fingerprints. Very professional. No feelings involved.

She sighed. She should face it – she had screwed up this morning. Lucifer hadn't been ready for this. She remembered how he had freaked out several weeks ago when she had told him he had made her vulnerable. Would he ever speak with her again after this?

“Are you OK?” Robin asked her, looking worried.

“Yeah, fine.”

“Lucifer still hasn't answered?”

Of course he knew it was Lucifer she had been trying to call...

“Maybe we should check on him? If he's OK?”

Chloe frowned. Since when was he so worried about him? “Why shouldn't he be OK?”

Robin shrugged. “It doesn't sound like him not to answer you.”

“We had a... thing in the morning. He's probably just upset.” What an understatement...

Robin snorted. “Yeah, that man is an emotional roller coaster.”

*****

Lucifer drove to LUX. He went straight to his penthouse and poured himself a glass of bourbon, drinking it in a sec. What was it with the two mortal women that they could make him loose control like that? He shook his head. It seemed his sessions with the doctor were over. Well, no regret there – as the doctor had proven just several minutes ago, she was quite incompetent to do this job... Guilt – ha! What a joke!

Oh, he was in a foul mood... He wanted to smash something. Badly. He wanted to... what exactly? Oh yes – he wanted the things to be like before. No stupid feelings, no stupid fear for lives of humans. No children and their endless questions, no women and their infuriating attempts to turn him into a boring adult. And sex, lot of sex!

He realized he hadn't had sex in eighteen days! Maybe that was it. Maybe that was why he had lost control. Twice this day. And he needed it back. Desperately. So he decided he needed a party.

Since Maze was still on mission in Hell, he called one of his other bartender to fetch him some humans to have fun with.

And he felt better already. He drank several more glasses of bourbon and sat to the piano. His fingers started to dance over the keys, soothing his temper. His phone rang several times, but he ignored it. He didn't want to talk to Chloe. Not yet. Not until he was his old self again and fully in control.

His music was interrupted again, this time by the pair of wings, the air swirling around the room.

“Wow, nice place!” Zadkiel complimented, looking around.

“Brother!” Lucifer welcomed him. “Do you have news, or have you come to ogle my place?”

Zadkiel focused on Lucifer. “Well, mostly the latter. I was curious about how you live down here.”

Lucifer lifted his eyebrow. He wasn't in a mood to entertain his boring brother.

“I talked to several brothers in Heaven. It seems that Michael, Rafael and Gabriel are very busy searching for our Mother. They employed several more angels sweeping the whole planet. So far they have nothing.”

Lucifer smirked. It only confirmed his theory that Mother had found some hole in Hell to crawl into. The archangels wouldn't succeed if he wouldn't inform them about this. He should probably do that. He would very much like to see his archangel brothers walking the hot hallways of Hell.

He was brought out of his musings by another pair of wings. Amenadiel with Maze in his arms landed in the middle of the room.

“Amenadiel?” Zadkiel looked speculatively at the woman in his arms.

Amenadiel swiftly let go of Maze and eyed his brother with trepidation. “Zadkiel? Why are you here? Did Father send you?”

“Don't worry, Amie, he's not here for you,” Lucifer said.

“Why is he here then?” Maze asked, all suspicion.

“I'm helping Lucifer to find our Mother,” Zadkiel explained.

Maze narrowed her eyes. “Why?”

“For personal reasons. Let's say I have an unfinished business with her.”

“Does Father know?” Amenadiel demanded.

Zadkiel shook his head. “And I'd very much like to keep it that way.”

Amenadiel folded his arms. “Why?”

“Well, I don't want Him to think I'm trying to compete with the archangels.”

Lucifer rolled his eyes. He had to mention them, hadn't he?

“Archangels?” Amenadiel repeated with alarm. “Why are they involved?”

Before Lucifer could stop him, Zadkiel blurted: “Because Mother's looking for the prophet, of course.”

“What?” Maze and Amenadiel yelled at the same time.

“Ohoh.” Zadkiel looked at Lucifer who was staring at him meaningfully. He finally figured out Lucifer hadn't told Amenadiel and his demon about the prophet at all.

“There's a prophet?” Maze asked with disgust. “Again?”

“And you know about it?” Amenadiel asked Lucifer with a frown.

Lucifer nodded watching Amenadiel's face grow suspicious.

Maze bristled. “We could use him to lure Mother out of her hiding. Do you know who he is?”

Lucifer considered lying for the first time in a very very VERY long time. Although he was almost sure Maze would protect Trixie with her life, he couldn't say the same thing about Amenadiel and Zadkiel. They might put her in danger and he couldn't have that. Lying it was then... But he had missed the right time to answer. And his hesitation told them all the truth.

“You know!” Amenadiel yelled. “How?”

“I have my sources.”

Amenadiel shook his head. “We have to tell the archangels. If you could find out the prophet's identity, Mother can too.”

Lucifer shook his head. “No, she can't.”

Amenadiel looked very serious. “Lucifer, if anyone except Father and the archangels know the prophet's identity, he is not safe.”

“No-one else knows,” Lucifer assured his brother.

Amenadiel finally understood. “They have told you. The archangels. They have told YOU?!”

“Why so surprised, brother? After all I'm an archangel too.”

Amenadiel barked with laughter. This was a cosmic joke.

Maze smiled. “So we CAN use him as a bait.”

“Not a good idea,” Lucifer replied with his 'no way' tone. He would never risk Trixie's life. He didn't want to imagine what kind of feelings he would experience if something happened to her.

“Why not?” Maze demanded.

“Because it's too dangerous, Maze. You have no idea what my brothers would do to me if we used the prophet as a bait!”

Amenadiel snorted. “Of course you are worried about yourself again. Can't imagine what made them tell YOU of all creatures in the universe.”

Lucifer didn't comment. Let Amenadiel think whatever he wanted...

“So who is he?” Maze asked.

“Sorry, Mazie, but I promised not to tell anyone his identity. Why don't you tell us what have you found in Hell?”

Maze stared at Lucifer for a while, probably hurt he wouldn't share the secret... and the digging of the trenches in their relationships had started... She replied finally: “Not much. We managed to squeeze some answers from one of Mother's minions. It seems she was heading to the Fields of Despair last time he saw her.”

“And you didn't think to search them?” Lucifer asked.

“You know how they are!” Maze defended her decision. “It could take days to search them. And they are dangerous. Anyone can get lost so easily there. It will be safer if you come with us.”

Lucifer snorted. To Hell he would never step again... “Sorry, have a thing tonight.”

“I could come,” Zadkiel offered.

“NO!” Maze snapped.

“Why not?” Lucifer asked.

“I don't know him. How can I know he won't abandon us if we get into trouble?”

“I won't,” Zadkiel said. “I promise.”

Maze glared at him with one of her 'try something and I'll kill you' stare. “You are not coming.”

“Maze,” Lucifer warned, but she didn't care.

“He's not coming with us!”

That demon was becoming more and more cheeky every day, Lucifer observed.

“Fine, no problem. I'll just return to Heaven,” Zadkiel gave up.

Lucifer wanted to say something, but it seemed they all decided to ignore him. Amenadiel took Maze back in his arms and they flew away in a record speed.

“Well, that went well,” Zadkiel remarked, his tone mildly sarcastic. “Sorry about the... I didn't realize they didn't know.”

Lucifer shrugged his shoulders. Not such a big deal. Now they knew. And they were probably mad at him. But he was sure it would pass. Someday. Like everything.

“I'll be on my way back, then,” Zadkiel interrupted his thoughts. “I'll return if something comes up.” And he spread his brown red wings and flew away.

*****

Chloe got home in the late afternoon. She found her mother and daughter playing scrabble. She was becoming a terrible parent, she realized. No, she was actually becoming Dan – preferring her job over her family. This had to stop. After this case, she promised herself, she would only take easy ones. Those, which wouldn't consume all of her time.

“Hey, monkey, how was your day?”

As expected, Trixie started to talk about everything that had happened in school, reminding her that tomorrow was the school dancing night, where Johnny would be playing and singing. Chloe remembered Trixie had mentioned this boy several times before. Did she have a crush on him? But she was only eight...

They all had a dinner and after Chloe put Trixie to bed, the expected inquisition started. Chloe had managed to flee to the precinct in the morning, successfully avoiding her mother's questions until now.

“I want to know everything,” Penelope breathed, visibly curious. Chloe actually admired she managed to wait after Trixie had gone to bed.

“There's nothing to know, really.”

“Nothing to know?! Honey, I caught you almost naked having sex on the table.”

Chloe shook her head. It was so like her mother to magnify everything. “We weren't naked and we certainly weren't having sex!”

“Well, but you WERE on the kitchen table.”

“Yes, you got this one right, mom!”

“And if I had arrived a minute later, only God knows what I would have witnessed.”

Chloe rolled her eyes.

“Honey, I understand you completely. I was young once, too, you know. And sometimes the night was too short so we took the morning as well.”

Chloe shook her finger at Penelope. “It's not like it. We didn't have sex. At all, I mean.”

“What? But he slept here. In your bed! He told me himself.”

Of course Lucifer told her... “Yes, but we didn't have sex. I had a difficult day yesterday. We found a dead boy and Lucifer stayed and... well... supported me. That's all.”

Penelope sighed heavily and pressed her hands to her breasts. “That is SO sweet. He obviously cares for you very much. Hey and he can cook!”

Chloe rolled her eyes. Again. “Yes, and he's Lucifer, the most difficult man I've ever met.”

“Well, he's handsome!” Penelope said.

“And insufferable.”

“And rich.”

“And self centered.”

“And caring,” Penelope pointed out.

“And probably crazy.”

“And Trixie loves him.”

“And I love him too, but-” Chloe stopped, only to realize it was too late. Had she really just said that? And was it even true? Well, she did love him... as a friend. But as a man?

Penelope beamed. “No need to look so stricken, pumpkin. You deserve some love in your life.”

Chloe shook herself. “It's not that easy, mom.”

“Of course it is. Next time you just take it to the bedroom and lock the door.”

“I'm not sure there will be a next time.”

“Why not?”

“Well, for start he's not answering my calls.”

“Ah, of course,” Penelope waved a hand. “He's probably scared to death. He's a man after all.”

Chloe frowned. “What do you mean?”

“He is just scared he'll fail you or that he's not good enough for you and you won't love him.”

“What?” Chloe chuckled. “Lucifer isn't scared of anything. Ever. Especially of not being good enough.”

Penelope snorted. “Girl, you have much to learn. Trust me. He's out of his mind, probably drinking somewhere to chase away his insecurity.”

“Mom, this is Lucifer. He's always drinking. And insecure is one thing he's not.”

“OK,” Penelope sighed and took Chloe's hand, sitting them both on the couch. “Now, you listen, pumpkin. When it comes to women, there exist only three types of men. First the insecure ones. They are barely able to talk to a woman, let alone ask her out. Then there is the second type. The overconfident one. These men think they are the best in everything, and that all women love them just because they are.”

“That's Lucifer,” Chloe concluded.

“Oh, no, honey. Lucifer is the third type.”

“And that is?”

“He's the insecure one successfully hiding his insecurity behind a mask of confidence.”

“Wwwhaaat?” Chloe drawled. “You can't be serious. I've seen Lucifer with women. And he's very confident. No mask, trust me.”

Penelope shook her head. “It's not the physical insecurity I'm talking about. It's the emotional. He simply connects with women physically...”

“Nicely put,” Chloe uttered.

“... thank you... because he doesn't know how to satisfy his emotional need. Well, he probably even hasn't known until now he has a need for emotional connection. That's why he hasn't returned your call. He's probably confused and terrified.”

Chloe waved her hands in disbelieve. “So what you are saying is that he's like a child!”

“Well, of course. He's a man without a woman!”

“And I'm suppose to what? Raise him?”

“No, you have to show him there's nothing to be scared of. He'll come around eventually. Just don't let him out of your hook. He might take fright and flee. You need to take things into your own hands, just to be sure.”

Chloe laid her face into her palms. She couldn't believe she was listening to this nonsense.

“Your father was like that too,” Penelope said with a small smile.

“What?” Chloe whispered.

“Yes. He was so timid he didn't know how to act around me. So he played a tough guy. I was a fresh star with an unwanted stalker, he was a fresh police officer with an unwanted case.” Penelope laughed. “But I knew. From the first time I saw him, I knew he was the right man. Took me several months to convince him I wasn't going to throw him away after I had my wicked way with him.”

Chloe smiled despite the tears her mother's words had summoned.

“We didn't have the whole lifetime together,” Penelope sighed, “but every minute was worth it. Trust me honey, life is short, don't waste it.”

“But what should I do?”

“Go talk to him. Make him believe you're not going to hurt him.”

Chloe considered her mother's words. It was probably the first wise thing she had said to her in her whole life.

“But I suggest you do it tonight. I won't be here tomorrow to babysit Trixie.”

Chloe looked at her. “You're leaving?”

“Not exactly. I just have a date,” Penelope replied with a smile.

“What?!” Chloe couldn't believe her ears. She was sure her mother hadn't had a date since the death of her father.

“Don't look at me that way! I'm not dead yet,” Penelope joked and patted her daughter. She got up and left Chloe to her thoughts.

Yes, she should do that. She should go to Lucifer, because she knew with an absolute certainty he wouldn't come to her. It didn't matter if her mother had it right. The last time she had got a little touchy-feely with him, he had ignored her for three weeks. And she had only told him about feeling vulnerable around him. But after this morning... If she didn't do something he would ignore her for what... three years? They simply needed to talk about what had happened and decide what to do next.

*****

Zadkiel appeared again in the evening. Lucifer was preparing for his party, checking the stash of alcohol stored in the glass shelving in his apartment. Nothing was as daunting as missing alcohol at a party.

“You again?” Lucifer sighed. “Don't tell me there's news.”

“I'm not sure. But the archangels have left Heaven several minutes ago. Together. Without any other angels.”

Lucifer looked at his brother. “Where?”

Zadkiel shrugged. “No-one seems to know.”

That was an interesting information. Maybe they had finally found her... Well, never mind. He was to have a party, no need to spoil his evening by thinking about his family.

Zadkiel looked around the clean apartment with glasses scattered on tables waiting to be filled.

Lucifer noticed his longing look. “Do you want some?” he indicated a bottle of Cuban rum.

Zadkiel grinned. “If you don't mind. It's a scarce goods in Heaven.”

Lucifer laughed and handed him the bottle. Zadkiel filled one of the glasses, inspected it carefully and took a taste. “Dear God in Heaven. This is heavenly!”

Lucifer laughed again.

The door of the elevator opened then and the three Brittanies entered. Zadkiel almost choked on his drink.

“Brittanies!” Lucifer yelled cheerfully. “Meet my brother, Zadkiel.” They walked to them, greeting them properly. “Oh, Lucifer, he's cute,” one of them singsonged and put her arms around Zadkiel's neck.

“Don't worry, Brittany, he's not going anywhere.”

Zadkiel shot him a panic look, but didn't seem in a hurry to leave. And he didn't. He decided to stay and try some of the human/Devil fun.

And what a party it was. At least Lucifer tried to convince himself... There were women (and men) of all colors in every corner of his apartment. There were more bodies than water in his whirlpool and the things they were doing... ahh... he should probably join them. Or the foursome in his bed. Or the almost naked girl currently dancing in front of him like Salome, touching him seductively every few seconds, inviting him to do with her as he pleased. And he should accept her invitation. He should. BUT... he seemed not to be in the mood. For anything really. He wanted – no needed – sex, but he wasn't in the mood. He wanted company, but he wasn't in the mood. He wanted to drink and instead of emptying one bottle after another, he barely sipped a second glass of this evening. He wasn't in the mood. He had realized earlier he had been hungry and had ordered Chinese. Tons of it. It should be here any minute. But he wasn't in the mood to eat either.

Zadkiel sauntered to him, grinning from ear to ear like a teenage boy on his first party, watching the dancing Salome with obvious want.

Lucifer beckoned to her and she danced even closer to him, rubbing her breasts against his arm. “Have you met my brother?” he whispered to her ear, indicating Zadkiel.

“I'd rather meet you...” she answered seductively, putting her hands around his neck. But Lucifer – what a surprise – wasn't really in the mood.

So when the door of the elevator opened, he decided to use it as an excuse. But as soon as he turned to the elevator, Salome still locked on his neck, he froze. What came out of it certainly wasn't Chinese nor food. It was Chloe. Her eyes met his over the heads of several people making out on his couch. There was shock in them that quickly turned into something worse. Hurt? Lucifer saw her lips moved as if saying silently 'of course'. She then shook her head and walked back to the elevator. He wanted to stop her, but he discovered to his horror he was unable to speak. And what would he say, anyway?

 _Of course_ , Chloe thought again. What was she expecting? Moping Lucifer? Scared Lucifer? He had probably already forgotten their little tryst in the morning. With all the sex and alcohol and almost naked beauty climbing him like some kind of an exotic tree. What was she – a monkey trying to grab a banana? Ugh... what a disgusting image! Chloe promised herself she wouldn't go to Lucifer again. Ever! If he wanted her in his life (as a friend or as something else), then it was up to him to make an effort. She was done with trying! She got back to the elevator as quickly as possible, not sparing Lucifer another look. She couldn't – not with that snake woman slithering all over him. She would have vomited if she had looked again...

“Who's that?” Zadkiel asked, probably sensing Lucifer's discomfort.

Lucifer shook his head. “No-one,” he said hoarsely, watching the door of the elevator close slowly. Chloe didn't look at him again.

Zadkiel glanced at Lucifer with interest. “So you don't mind if I go after her?” He was about to move to the elevator, but Lucifer's hand caught him by his collar.

“You don't get anywhere near her, do you hear me?!” he said menacingly.

Zadkiel looked startled. He put his hands in the air as to signal his surrender. “Fine, fine.”

Lucifer let go of him, realizing what a spectacle he was making of himself. He didn't know what had triggered this reaction. It wasn't like Chloe was in any danger from his brother. He couldn't hurt her thanks to Father's order. He should probably apologize, but, well... he wasn't in the mood.

Something tickled him in his ear. He looked and found out it was Salome's tongue. She didn't seem to notice his bad mood. “Why won't you show me all the secret places around here?” she whispered.

“And why won't you shove that dirty tongue of yours into some other hole!”

“What?” Salome jumped away from him. “I don't need to be here! I have hundreds of places to go and thousands of men to plead my attention.”

“So why don't you go and find one of those men instead, hm?”

Salome gasped, obviously severely insulted. She grabbed her coat and headed to the elevator.

“Actually,” Lucifer said, his voice rising, “the party is over!”

There were several regretful voices. The rest of the people didn't hear him at all.

“I said, the party is over!” Lucifer yelled making the walls shake. “Get out of here!”

Finally the people noticed his bad mood, and realized he was serious. They started to shuffle slowly to the elevator, picking up discarded clothes on their way.

Zadkiel watched all this with an odd expression.

“Didn't you hear?” Lucifer turned to his brother with a menacing look.

“Yeah, I think I've heard everything I needed,” Zadkiel replied and joined the exodus.

Lucifer was alone. Finally. Although he wasn't in the mood to be alone either.

The elevator opened again and two men with arms full of Chinese food entered. “Lucifer Morningstar? We have a delivery...”

Lucifer rolled his eyes. He threw his wallet to the men, indicating to take what was owned and moved to his piano. Ahhh... he wasn't really in the mood for this either.

So he just sat there, wondering what was happening to him. He felt bad. For loosing control in the morning, and for Linda, but mostly for Chloe. For what had happened just several minutes ago. For the hurt in her eyes. Was HE responsible for that? But how?

It's not like he had done something wrong, had he? So why did he wish so keenly he could travel back in time and do things differently? Why was he feeling so... guilty?

He pushed several keys of the piano, then several more and soon a melancholic tune filled the place. He played for what seemed like hours until his fingers were numb and his back hurt. He laid on the couch then and closed his eyes, the eerie image of hurt Chloe filling his mind. Still he managed to dose off for several hours.

 

When he woke up, it was afternoon of the next day, the penthouse filled with weak sunlight. There were clouds out there, heavy and gray, mirroring his mood quite precisely. It was about to rain. He would welcome that. The drumming of rain always had a soothing effect on him.

He closed his eyes again, hoping the rain would come soon. But instead of drumming of rain he detected a drumming of another kind – a pair of wings.

Lucifer sighed – his apartment was turning into a parking structure for angels...

“Lucifer!” It was Zadkiel, again.

Lucifer opened his eyes, already starting to regret his decision to involve his brother. “What?” he asked none too gently. He noticed the other angel's appearance. His clothes torn, his cheek burned, his brown hair wild. “What's happened? You look like you took a little too much time in a tanning bed.”

“I've just returned from Hell.”

“Really? I thought you were heading back to Heaven.”

“I was, but then Amenadiel called me.”

Lucifer lifted his brows and finally got up from the couch. “Do tell.”

“Lucifer, Amenadiel and Maze managed to capture another of our Mother's demons. He told them that Mother knew!”

“What does she know exactly?”

“The identity of the prophet. And that's not all. She is apparently sending demons to capture the child. Right now!”

“What?!”

Zadkiel nodded vehemently. “Amenadiel and Maze stayed in Hell, they are following another lead, a promising one, maybe they'll get to Mother in time, but... what should we do?”

“You go to Heaven and inform the archangels.”

“But they're not there! They haven't come back since they left yesterday. And I tried to summon them but they're out of reach! They're not answering!”

Lucifer clenched his fists. If they weren't answering it meant they were in another dimension where they couldn't be reached. “Keep trying. Tell them everything. Tell them to go help Amenadiel.”

“What about you?”

“I'm going to pick up the child.” Lucifer grabbed his suit jacket and hurried out of his apartment. He wasn't happy about involving the other archangels, but Amenadiel and Maze alone didn't stand a chance against his Mother. And he just couldn't go help them right now and leave Beatrice to her fate. It was funny how the priorities seemed so clear in the face of danger...


	9. Unexpected Encounters

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Trixie's secret is out and Lucifer has to take action...

Trixie was pissed. She didn't deserve this. She had only defended herself. That stupid Melisa had made fun of her again. Of her father, to be precise. And she just couldn't have let her. So she had kicked her right to her knee, making her cry like a little baby.

It was so weird Melisa didn't remember the accident in the zoo (yes, Trixie had decided to call it an accident). Lucifer had explained that his brother had made Melisa forgot all about it. It was so cool... But there was a catch – Johnny didn't remember either and now he acted like they hadn't talked in the zoo about tonight's school dancing. Oh yes, she was so pissed... and now she got a detention. It was either that or no dancing night for her... She had chosen the detention, of course.

She was made to help with the decoration for the dancing, together with other kids, who had volunteered, making stuff from paper and putting it all around the gym where the dancing was to be held.

Her phone vibrated in her pocket. She looked around and seeing no teacher nearby she pulled it out.

“Lucifer!” she whispered.

“Beatrice! Were are you?”

“In the school. I got a detention. Why? Are you coming to pick me up?” she perked up a little.

Before Lucifer could have answered, Miss Neubert took her phone right from her hand. “Trixie! You know the rules. No calling during a detention.”

“Yes, Miss Neubert,” Trixie replied, grinding her teeth and keeping all the frustration inside.

 

“Hello?!” Lucifer yelled. Was it too late? Had the demons got to her?

“I'm sorry, but Trixie is kept in detention, you can call her at 4 pm.”

“What?” But the woman on the other side hanged up. “Bloody hell!” Lucifer yelled. “Stupid humans!”

He jumped in his car and pushed the gas pedal to the floor. He had briefly considered to use his wings instead of the human invention but had decided against it. He would have to land somewhere in the school and it would have probably cause more damage than good. And Trixie didn't seem to be in an immediate danger. Or was she? What did they do to children in detention? Surely she would have summoned him if she had needed him... she was a smart girl.

The school wasn't so far from his club and breaking the speed limits he got there in a record time of 18 minutes.

All looked normal, peaceful (as far as a school can be). There were some children and there were few teachers. But the school was more empty than full. Lucifer guessed it was because of the late hour.

He grabbed one of a passerby by his school bag demanding an information: “Where are the detention cells?”

“Funny, man,” the boy replied with a snort and walked away.

Lucifer thought he should teach him a lesson, unfortunately he had no time. He stopped a small girl and ask her the same question. The girl looked at him like he was some kind of an idiot and explained slowly: “In a prison.”

Lucifer finally understood he was asking a wrong question. “No, I mean where they keep the children in a detention?”

The girl shrugged.

“This is pointless,” Lucifer breathed and dialed Trixie's number. No-one picked up. He looked from a classroom to a classroom, but they seemed endless. And empty. He spotted a female teacher. He stopped her and asked for a direction. After explaining that he was something like a father (but certainly NOT one), and after lots of smiles and flattery she sent him to the gym. Up, then left, then left, then down, right, left, then straight and at the end of the hallway left. The third door on the right.

This was worse than a Greek labyrinth. If he had only had a clue, what a devilish device a school was, he would have built one in Hell centuries ago.

He was almost there, when he felt the familiar tingling along his spine. Trixie was calling him. He broke into a run, not bothered by how undignified of him it was. He heard a scream then. A girlish one – not Trixie for sure. She wouldn't have screamed like this. She probably wouldn't have screamed at all. And then the screams multiplied.

He stormed in the gym, finding a teacher banging a demon on its head with her shoe. Lucifer would have laughed if he had had a time for it. But there was no time to waste. Just on the opposite wall a huge doorway to Hell stood open and demons were jumping out of it, one at a time.

“Oh, Hell,” Lucifer muttered, intending to move deeper in the gym, but a group of panicked kids ran straight at him, trying to get out.

“Get out of my way!” Lucifer yelled and pushed his way through them, frantically searching for Trixie. She wasn't among the fleeing children.

They finally ran out of the gym, leaving him alone with a livid teacher, several smaller kids scattered around, and a bunch of demons, their number still increasing. His priority was to close the gate to stop the demons coming out of it. He would find Trixie next. Even with the support of his wings he couldn't fight hundreds of them at the same time. At least not in a school.

The demons had noticed him of course, but they didn't seem to be much afraid of him. They actually came together and prepared to attack him, armed with what Lucifer was sure were daggers and swords made in Hell. Lucifer looked around. There were still humans in the room (no Trixie), but he had no choice. Better to let some of them go crazy than let all of them die.

He spread his wings wide, shocking the demons out of their determination... They hadn't seen this coming. They'd probably thought he was a wingless weakling. Lucifer grinned at their stupefied faces and before they could come to their senses, he forced sparks of light out of his fingers, molding them into a tiny star, hovering just a few inches above his palm. The demons tried to run when they perceived Lucifer's intention, but they weren't fast enough. Lucifer hurled the ball of light at them and even as small as it was, it was strong enough to turn most of them into ash, setting the rest on fire. Those, who hadn't died immediately, screamed and flung themselves on the floor trying to extinguish their burning clothes and skin, setting afire all the flammable things around them.

Lucifer waved his wings and soared over them, landing exactly in front of the gate to Hell. He punched the next demon who had come through right back in and reached for one of his longer feathers. He yanked it out with a hiss and drove it right through the wall where the gate stood open. The gate to Hell closed almost immediately.

He turned, assessing the damage. All the demons were either dead, dying or had fled the gym. There were about six small children hiding by the stands, mostly covering their ears, and a tousled teacher sitting in the middle, one shoe on her foot, the other in her hand. She looked out of her mind. She was staring at Lucifer (well, they all were) in amazement. He folded his wings and walked straight to her.

“Beatrice Decker. Where is she?”

The poor woman wasn't capable of speaking. Actually, she wasn't capable of anything but staring at him, her chin almost on her breasts, her finger pointing at him in a silent question.

“Trixie Decker! Do you know, where she is?” he tried again, but didn't get any answer.

One of the kids came to them: “Miss Neubert?” But the teacher still didn't reply, she kept staring at Lucifer, her mouth opened wide.

Lucifer looked at the small girl. She must have been younger than Trixie. But unlike the teacher she seemed to have all her brain cells intact. “Girl, do you know where Trixie is?”

The little girl shrugged, looking at him with a keen interest. “Are you Batman?”

“What? NO! Has anybody seen Trixie?” Lucifer yelled at the other children coming to them slowly, avoiding the flames. They were slowly spreading, increasing the temperature in the room.

A small boy answered: “I saw her running that way,” he pointed at a small door opposite the main entrance.

“Right,” Lucifer breathed, relieved he had a lead. He turned to leave, but a voice stopped him: “What are we to do?” one of the kids asked.

Lucifer turned back to them. Hell's bells. Couldn't they help themselves? Eying the teacher he supposed they probably couldn't. He picked the woman off the floor, putting her on her feet. “Now, you grab your teacher and go straight out, do you understand?”

The children nodded, taking their teacher's hands. Lucifer pushed them out of the main door. Schools were really dangerous these days... in fact it would be better if all the people left the school. He pushed the fire alarm (there was a fire after all) and started to run to the door the little boy had indicated.

 

Trixie ran. She was completely out of her breath now but still running. There wasn't anything else to do. She had called Lucifer, but he hadn't appeared. Maybe she remembered it wrong. Or maybe she had fled the gym before Lucifer had arrived.

She would have called him again, but she had no time to stop and put her palms together. She had to run. Three of those ugly creatures were chasing her. And one of them had horns!

Few teachers had got in their way, trying to stop them, but the creatures overpowered them easily. Trixie feared they had killed them.

The fire alarm suddenly started to ring and the hallway swarmed with kids marching out of the building, probably thinking it was another fire exercise. But Trixie very much doubted it. Being smaller than the creatures, she managed to zigzagged through the children easily and hide in a chemistry classroom.

She sat quietly in a closet, surrounded by the weirdest equipments. She watched through a crack in the door the happening in the room. It was quiet for now. She put her palms together and tried to call Lucifer again.

 

The school was almost empty only for the demons. There were tens of them everywhere. Lucifer smashed one after another as they came, careful to avoid their deadly weapons.

Meanwhile the sirens of firefighters started to sound in a distance, someone probably realizing this wasn't a drill.

Lucifer felt the tingling again. _Smart girl_ , he thought with relief. This time he wasn't afraid of any damage to the pupilkind, he spread his wings again and opening a portal, he took a shortcut through the 'passage' dimension. He appeared in the chemist classroom in a sec.

There were three demons in there. He disarmed one and used his weapon to behead another. Then he returned to the first one and had a little fist exchange with him.

The third got to a closet, opening it with a yank. Lucifer noticed it wasn't empty – there was certainly one girl more than was required.

Trixie yelped, but she was prepared. She stabbed the ugly creature (it was the one with horns) with a long glass stick with the sharper end. The creature grunted, but didn't move. It grabbed Trixie by her arm. She pushed her free hand to its face earning a painful scream. The demon jumped away, holding its severely burned face. The screaming stopped in another second, Lucifer braking its ugly neck.

He grinned at her then with something like relief. “Well played, biter!”

Trixie jumped out of the closet and ran to him, smashing her little frame to his legs. He hugged her tightly (just for a split of a second, really) and asked her if she was all right.

Trixie nodded. “It wasn't me this time,” she tried to explain she hadn't used her super power (well, not until now) and thus summoning the ugly creatures.

“I know,” Lucifer replied. He turned to the door intending to leave the room. But as soon as they got there, Lucifer spotted another fifteen or so demons running their way. This was bad. He decided to lock the door and use another instead. But there was a minor problem – the classroom didn't have another door. He considered to fry the demons, but it seemed the firefighters had finally arrived. Who knew how many of them were already running through the hallways?

The demons got to the door and started banging at it. It wouldn't hold them for long...

Maybe they could flee through a window. No matter they were in a second floor... Lucifer opened the window, looking down to the school yard. “You have to be kidding me,” he muttered to himself. The school yard was full of demons, some of them starting to climb the building like cockroaches. The door it was then...

Lucifer turned back to the door and prepared himself for another fight, pulling Trixie behind his back. But before he could create another small star to fry the creatures trying to get in the classroom, another gate to Hell opened on the wall to his right. And then another to his left.

This was insane! It seemed all Hell was on the loose. How could have this happened? Where had Mother got so many keys? It wasn't like they were hanging on a hook in a hallway...

Their options seemed to decrease considerably. There were only two left, actually. Lucifer could either burn them all with the whole school and everything in it (including Trixie), or he could flee the only direction the demons couldn't follow – up.

“Lucifer?” Trixie yelled, sounding anxious. The first demon climbing the building reached their window and was breaking it down.

Lucifer took off his suit jacket and put it on Trixie, hiding her head inside. He took her into his arms. “Hold on tight!” he instructed her and as soon as she winded her arms around his neck, he spread his wings, jumped in the air and flew right through the just broken window.

The yard was a mess. It was full of demons and some firefighters trying to get them out, thinking they were humans. The flames had spread to neighboring sections of the building, sending black smoke in the air.

Lucifer flew to the black column of embers and hot air, soaring up with them into the heavy clouds, making sure they were invisible to the prying eyes (human or demon).

Thank God it was cloudy today. And maybe literally... Had his Father anticipated the attack? No, surely if he had, he would have warned him. This was about His prophet after all.

The girl in his arms yelped a little and tightened her hold on him. Lucifer glimpsed at her. She was looking down, he noticed. Not that there was something to see. The clouds were so gray they were almost black...

“Are you all right?” he asked her.

“Yes,” Trixie replied. “Where are we going?”

“Well...” Lucifer hadn't thought that far... “Away for now.” He didn't know where they should go. Or to be more precise where they could land without making it in the evening news. When his Father had gifted him with the wings, the word 'inconspicuous' hadn't crossed his mind. Because there was no need for it. Creatures like Lucifer had almost nothing to be afraid of. His purpose wasn't to hide, his purpose was to display the God's power, and raise fear in His enemies. He was the bringer of light and that was precisely what his wings were doing – emanating light. It was dim when Lucifer needed it to be, but still shining. There wasn't a switch installed in them. So for now he kept flying through the clouds where the light of his wings was absorbed by the tiny ice pearls of the clouds. He checked the position of the sun and headed east (more or less). He didn't wish to end up in the middle of Pacific, in Greenland or Amazon Rainforest by an accident. He would just fly east, find a nice spot of solid ground where nobody would see him, and land there.

Another thing his Father hadn't thought of – a GPS navigation. Even the stupid birds had it. But angels? No, sir. They had to do with their eyes and the sun as a compass. Yes, normally he wouldn't have used this kind of transportation at all, he would have simply taken a shortcut through the 'passage' dimension. But with Trixie he had no other choice. She wouldn't have survived it. And thinking about the little devil...

Trixie shivered in his arms making him realize it was quite cold up here. And wet. Even his brand Armani jacket couldn't shield the child from it completely. “Are you cold?”

“That's OK,” Trixie answered, her teeth chattering.

“No, it's not,” Lucifer whispered and reached inside his body for some extra warmth. Being the Devil and having permanent connection to Hell came handy from time to time. He increased his temperature by several degrees. “Better?”

“Yes,” Trixie yelled, sounding a little more alive.

And on they flew.

*****

Chloe was miserable. Again. Patrick's death was all over the news, the reporters insinuating the police department was incompetent. Lucifer still wasn't talking to her and honestly, she didn't know if she wanted him to talk to her ever again. Not after the last evening. She still remembered the almost naked beauty hanging on his neck (and other parts too, probably). And there was the school dancing night tonight, which Chloe had to attend with Trixie. And Trixie was in detention, because she had had a fight. Again!

“This is so pointless,” Robin said, sitting next to her. They thought about Chloe's theory that the kidnappers were likely to move out of the city, the state or the continent altogether. They had sent pictures of Andy and the suspect to all airports and harbors – maybe they would get lucky. But probably not.

Chole's phone rang and she groaned – it was the principal again. She picked it up reluctantly, prepared to defend her daughter against anything the annoying woman had to say against her. But she didn't have to.

“Come again?” Chloe demanded after the principal had finished. Was she joking? The school was on fire? And they couldn't find Trixie?

“Chloe?” Robin asked, his voice full of concern. “Are you OK?”

“I... I... have to go,” she stammered and stood up, almost falling down again.

“Wow! Slowly,” Robin caught her by her elbow to steadied her. “What's happened?”

“Trixie. The school's on fire.”

“What?! OK, let's go!”

Chloe was so scared for her daughter she even didn't think about refusing Robin's help. They got to Robin's car and got moving.

“Go faster,” Chloe insisted, well aware they would break the speed limit. Fortunately Robin didn't care about the limit and pushed the pedal to the floor. She tried to call her daughter on her phone but Trixie didn't answer.

The school really was on fire – the principal wasn't kidding. Firefighters were doing their best, showering the dying flames with gallons of water. Chloe jumped out of the car before it came to a stop and ran to a group of teachers watching the spectacle. “Where is Trixie?”

The principal turned to her, face pale. “They haven't found her. The firefighters have searched most of the building, but haven't found her. We think she might have run out another way.”

“You THINK?!” Chloe yelled. “She is not answering my call!”

“Oh,” the principal sighed. “Miss Neubert took her phone from her. She was in detention and wasn't suppose to use it. But someone called her. So she took it.”

Chloe couldn't believe they had taken her daughter's phone because someone had called her. Now she was somewhere without a way to contact anyone. She had an insisting urge to murder the stupid teachers. “Who saw her last?”

“I think it was miss Neubert,” the principal indicated an ambulance. “But she is... indisposed.”

“What's that suppose to mean?” Was miss Neubert hurt by the fire?

“She's had a nervous breakdown.”

Chloe couldn't believe her ears. There was an emergency and instead of saving the children she was supposed to take care of, the teacher had a breakdown?

Chloe hurried to the ambulance. Miss Neubert was sitting at the edge of the vehicle, a blanket around her shoulders. She was trembling and rocking slightly back and forth, mumbling incoherently.

“Miss Neubert? What's happened? Do you know where Trixie is?”

“We must be good,” the teacher said. “We must be good. Or the Hell will come for us. We must be good.”

Chloe slapped her. She knew it wasn't at all professional, but she was here as a mother, not as a police officer.

Miss Neubert stopped mumbling for a moment and focused on Chloe.

“Where is my daughter?” Chloe repeated with a pleading tone.

“I... the creatures... they came for her. I tried to stopped them, but I couldn't.”

“What creatures?”

Miss Neubert shook her head. “From Hell. The creatures from Hell.”

Chloe wanted to slap her again. “Please, miss Neubert, do you know what's happened to Trixie?”

Miss Neubert tried to focus again. “I saw her run away. I don't know where. But I think the angel ran after her.”

“Angel?”

“Yes. He was so beautiful. So beautiful. He came to safe us.”

“Oh, God,” Chloe sighed and put her face in her palms. The teacher really was out of her mind.

She looked around, some children were still standing in the street, waiting for their parents to pick them up. She saw a father hug his son with a visible relief. He took the boy in his arms and marched to his car. When they were passing her, she heard the boy utter: “I saw an angel!”

Chloe stopped them. “What did you say?”

“I saw an angel. He killed the bad guys.”

“Sorry,” the father said. “We should go.”

“Wait, please. My daughter, Trixie, she is missing. Did you see her?”

The boy nodded. “Yes. She ran from the evil guys. The angel ran after her.”

“Sorry,” the father said again. “Josh has a wild imagination.”

Chloe nodded and let them go. As crazy as the story was, it matched the one miss Neubert had told her. Was everybody delusional or was there really something more to this world she had been refusing to see?

“Chloe!” Robin jogged to her. She even didn't notice he had disappeared. “Look,” he pointed to a car.”

“It's Lucifer's!”

“Yes,” Robin nodded.

Chloe ran to the car and peeked inside. It was empty. And what was she expecting? Trixie sitting by a wheel? What was it doing here, anyway?

She tried to call Lucifer, but was informed the number wasn't available.

But the car suggested Lucifer was here. And why else would he be here but for Trixie? Was he the 'angel' the teacher and the boy had talked about? Oh God, please, let Trixie be with Lucifer!

“Ehm, Chloe,” Robin drawled, his voice carrying a warning Chloe didn't notice.

“What?”

“We should probably go.”

She looked at his face. It held a lot of concern. She followed the line of his sight and noted two strange individuals hanging by the road. They were watching her and Robin intently. Or maybe they were watching Lucifer's car. Chloe didn't waste any time. She started to march right to them.

“Not a good idea!” she heard Robin yell after her.

She ignored him, put her hand on her gun (just to be sure) and marched straight to the men. “LAPD!” she announced herself. “I have some questions for you.”

The men looked at each other, some nonverbal communication took place and before she knew it, they grabbed her arms. Chloe managed to kick one of them to his loins, not causing much damage though. But at least his grip slackened and she got out of it.

“Let go of her!” she heard Robin behind her and then saw his fist connect with the other man's nose. There was an ugly crack noise, indicating Robin's punch had an affect. The man fell to the ground. The other tried to attacked Robin, but Chloe pulled out her gun and aimed it on him.

“Stop!” she yelled, but the man didn't care about her gun. She almost pulled the trigger but Robin got in her way, sending the man flying (quite literally).

“We should really go,” Robin turned to her, his eyes scanning their surrounding. Chloe looked around and saw more suspiciously looking men heading their way.

“No, they may know something about Trixie.”

“Trust me, Chloe, even if they knew, they would never tell. There are too many of them. I don't think I can protect you.” Robin grabbed her arm and tried to drag her to his car. But Chloe resisted.

“It's not your job to protect me!”

“That's exactly my job!” Robin opposed. “Look, Lucifer and neither Trixie are here. And they couldn't have been kidnapped. If the men had them, they wouldn't be lurking around. So let's go find Lucifer!”

Chloe admitted he had a point. She let him drag her back to his car. What was happening? Who were these men? And what did they want with her daughter?

Robin get the car moving, breaking the speed limits again. “Let's go to LUX.”

Chloe nodded. It was Lucifer's safe place. He would probably go there if in danger.

 

“Lucifer!” Chloe yelled as she ran down the stairway to the club. She came to a stop on the last step. Lucifer nor Maze was there, but there were two men, one of them she recognized – tall, handsome, brown hair, green eyes, looking like a boy... it was the doctor who had healed Lucifer.

“Doctor... Newman? What are you doing here?”

“Busted...” the doctor said and pulled a face.

She looked at the other man. He was also beautiful in his own way. He was blond, his long, plaited hair reaching his waist. His features were somewhat feminine yet there was nothing effeminate about him. He was tall and slim, but very well built and strong. And he was carrying a sword at his waist. His piercing blue eyes were watching her with interest, making her uncomfortable. He looked cold. Then his eyes shifted to the person walking behind her and he frowned. “What are you doing here?” he asked Robin.

“Michael? Gabriel?” Robin looked from one man to the other.

“You know them?” Chloe asked.

“I have asked you a question,” Micheal stressed.

“I'm doing what I'm suppose to do,” Robin replied. “Now, where is Lucifer? Is he here? Detective Decker's daughter is missing and we think she may be with him.”

“By Father's ankles, Beatrice Decker is missing?” Gabriel yelled.

“Yes!” Chloe cried. “So do you know where Lucifer is?”

“No, he's missing too,” Gabriel replied. “I guess your daughter is with Lucifer then. He is suppose to look after her, after all.”

“Gabriel,” Michael said with a warning in his voice.

Chloe frowned. “What do you mean that Lucifer is looking after her? And who are you guys, anyway? And please don't tell me you're specialists on stab wounds!”

“Well, we are-”

“Gabriel!” Michael yelled.

“Oh, come on! We can't keep her in the dark forever. Especially if the girl is missing!”

“It's not your decision to make.”

“It's not yours either,” Gabriel opposed. He turned to Chloe. “We're Lucifer's brothers.”

Chloe's eyes widened. She pulled her gun out and pointed it straight at Gabriel's chest.

“See,” Michael drawled. “Humans.” He started to approach Chloe slowly.

“Stay where you are or I'll shoot you!” She glimpsed at Michael's sword again. Who carried swords these days? Oh yes, the people who stabbed other people in zoos...

“I'm an angel. Your weapons can't hurt me.”

Chloe snorted. “Interesting, it's the same thing Lucifer said just before I shot him and he cried like a baby while he was bleeding on a floor.”

That stopped the man. Michael looked at his brother. Gabriel shrugged his shoulders. How should he know if the prophet's mother had this power?

“I don't know what Lucifer told you about us, but-” Gabriel begun, but Chloe interrupted him: “Not much. Just that you're responsible for the attack in the zoo.”

“No, that weren't us. We healed him, remember? Why would we do that if we wanted him dead?” Gabriel asked.

“Lucifer said it was his family.”

“Yes, but our Mother, not us,” Gabriel explained. “She is a little bit... crazy.”

“I guess it runs in the family,” Chloe retorted sharply. But she thought about the man's words. Lucifer's mother had hurt him? How could a mother do that to a son?

Michael took a deep breath: “Lets begin anew. I'm the archangel Michael. You don't have to be afraid of us.”

And this shit again... “You misunderstand. I'm not afraid. I'm pissed. And a little desperate. So I don't give a damn if you're the Virgin Mary herself.” That earned her a snort from Gabriel and a frown from Michael. But Chloe ignored both: “You are going to tell me where my daughter and Lucifer are or I will shoot your lunatic ass to high heaven!”

Michael watched her like she was a lunatic herself. “We don't know, where any of them is.” He looked at Robin then, a silent question in his eyes. He wasn't used to such a disrespect and distrust.

Robin shrugged. “She's an atheist.”

“An atheist?” Michael repeated in disbelief. “Why did Father choose an atheist? And how can she be an atheist? She's been consorting with Samael for quite some time now.”

“Sam- who? Who is that?” Chloe asked.

“Lucifer,” Gabriel explained. “It was his first name – Samael.”

“Sam-” Chloe didn't manage to say it properly even for the second time. But something occurred to her – angel Sam... Could it be? No, no, no. She shook her head and focused on the brown haired man in front of her. “I suppose you even really aren't a doctor, are you? Or a 'Newman'?”

Gabriel shook his head. “No. I'm the archangel Gabriel. I'm the messenger of God. And we should probably talk. If you could put down your weapon and sit...”

“No, thank you. I think I'll keep my weapon exactly where it is. But you can start talking.”

Gabriel nodded. “Your daughter was chosen by our Father, the God, to be His next prophet. And our Mother wants her for reasons unknown to us.”

Chloe felt like she was watching a broken movie. She wanted to roll her eyes desperately, but the situation was too grave for that.

“I knew it!” Robin yelled with a satisfied expression on his face.

“What?!” Michael asked. “How? Who told you?”

“No-one,” Robin replied. “When I said I knew it, I meant I had figured it out.”

Chloe turned to Robin with a suspicious frown. “Will you tell me already how you know them?”

Robin shuffled his feet. “Well, they're my brothers too.”

Chloe snorted. “Really?”

“Yes.”

“So if they are your brothers and Lucifer's brothers as well, it means you are Lucifer's brother too?”

“Well, yes,” Robin confirmed.

“Interesting how he's never mentioned that.”

“That's because he doesn't know.”

“I see,” Chloe breathed, carefully stepping sideways and putting more distance between them. These men were obviously more than crazy. Delusional. Probably dangerous. How could he have even got to the police force?

“The thing is that I'm the youngest,” Robin continued, not noticing Chloe's withdrawal. “I was born long after Lucifer had been expelled from Heaven.”

“Hmh,” Chloe nodded and eyed the exit.

“So Lucifer didn't know me at all. And we can hide the fact we're angels even before other angels.”

“Of course you can,” Chloe agreed and moved backwards slowly, her gun still pointed at Michael. She was prepared to run the stairs when the air moved and right next to Michael another man appeared. A man with huge black wings attached to his back.

Chloe pulled the trigger – it was a reflex, really, shooting the newcomer in the middle of the chest.

And then she yelped. Her eyes got wide, her chin fell and her hands went slack, letting the gun fall to the ground.

“Oh, my clothes!” the man with wings barked, examining the hole in his weird outfit. But that's all the damage the bullet had done. No blood, no wound. And still the wings... Was she hallucinating? Or was it all true? No, no, no, no, no!

She looked at the man properly. He was darker than the rest of them, his black longish hair in contrast with his yellow eyes. He would have looked menacing if not for the kindness shining in his eyes. He pointed at her: “You're Chloe Decker. I've just been to your home. Lucifer isn't there either,” he told his brothers. “Hey, Robin, why are you here?”

“Father's orders,” Robin clarified.

“You have wings,” Chloe whispered ignoring all the conversation going around her.

“Yes, of course. I'm Rafael by the way...” he paused, looking at Chloe carefully. “Are you alright?”

Chloe shook her head. She didn't know, couldn't think. Had he just said something? And why wasn't there any air left in the room?

Rafael looked at his brothers. “Have you told her?”

“Yes,” Gabriel said.

“So why is she looking like a fish pulled out of water?”

“She's an atheist,” Michael spat.

“Interesting,” Rafael drawled. “Ah... I think... I think she's going to faint.”

And that was exactly what Chloe did. Robin managed to catch her before she had hit the ground. He laid her on a couch in a booth.

Rafael knelt beside Chloe and pulled off one of his gloves. He put his hand over her head and concentrated. She needed to calm down a little. This kind of revelation was hard enough on any human, but on a mother of a prophet, currently missing, it was a nuclear bomb.

“What are your orders exactly?” Michael asked Robin.

“To keep Chloe safe.”

Michael frowned. “Why wasn't I informed about your mission?”

Robin shrugged. “How should I know?”

“Tell me what happened.”

Robin told him all he knew about what had happened in the school. “It almost looked like Hell was moving to Earth.”

“Yes, that's why are we here. A major movement in Hell was detected. We've come to warn Lucifer only to find out he vanished,” Gabriel explained.

“I see.” Robin shook his head.

“No sign of Samael and the girl in the school?” Michael asked.

“No. I think he managed to escape them.”

“Maybe he used the gift we had given him, after all,” Gabriel suggested.

“What gift?” Robin looked from Gabriel to Michael and back.

“Or he took the prophet so he could use her to get a leverage on Father,” Michael suggested.

“No, I don't think so,” Gabriel replied, frowning at his brother. He couldn't understand why the two of them had to fight all the time, always thinking the worst.

Rafael finished his ministrations. Chloe groaned, and woke up slowly.

“You will take her home and watch over her,” Michael ordered Robin. “Don't leave her alone.”

Robin nodded a helped Chloe to sit.

“What?” Chloe pressed the heel of her hand to her forehead and groaned again. The last thing she remembered was a man with huge wings. Had she been drugged? She looked around and spotted the men she thought she dreamt. “Please tell me, I've just had the weirdest dream...”

“It wasn't a dream,” Michael said. “Your days as an atheist are over. Robin will take you home. We will find your offspring. And Lucifer.”

Chloe took several deep breaths. _Deal with it later_ , she told herself. _Trixie first..._ “I'm going with you.”

Michael snorted. “You would only be a burden to us. You can't fly, you can't travel in another dimension and you are weak. Not to say mortal.”

Chloe glared at him. “And you are an arrogant ass.”

Michael's features turned to stone. “You need to learn some respect.”

“And you need to learn some humility.”

Michael took a step closer to her, but Robin jumped in his way. “OK, we'll be on our way now! Come, Chloe,” he took her by her hand and started to pull her out of the club. She fought him for a few seconds, but as soon as the archangels spread their wings and flew away, she gave up.

“You don't expect me to just sit on my ass and wait?!”

“I'm sorry, Chloe. But regardless his haughtiness Michael is right. This is a big game. You don't stand a chance against this kind of power. And neither do I, probably. If the former Queen of Heaven is after your daughter, only the archangels can save her.”

Chloe let him drag her in his car. A dread was slowly creeping up her spine. The only consolation was the knowledge Trixie was most likely with Lucifer. Who was really the Devil. Like he had always said. He wouldn't let anything happen to her, she was sure. He may not realize it but her little monkey had a strong hold on his heart. Her little monkey had the Devil for protection... Chloe gulped. It was a good thing, right?

“So, there's God,” Chloe whispered after Robin had started the engine.

“Yes. No need to sound so resigned. He's not that bad.”

Chloe looked at Robin properly. Was there suppose to be something angelic about him? Yes, he was handsome, but it summed it up. Angel Robin... “Your name is really Robin?”

Robin grinned. “Yes. As I said, I'm the youngest.”

Yes, he looked to be in his thirties.

“I'm 637 years old.”

“Ahhh...” Not that young then... but at least she had guessed right the 'thirties' part.

“Father named me after Robin Hood.”

“Really? Wait, Robin Hood is real?”

“Of course. Fine chap. He's in Heaven – well, his soul is. Can't imagine how he got there, though. Wasn't exactly a saint while he lived.”

Chloe shook her head. There was God AND Robin Hood. What was next? Vampires? Aliens? Santa Claus?

A thought occurred to her. “How old is Lucifer?”

“Well, as old as the time itself. He, Michael, Gabriel and Rafael were the first creatures Father created.”

“How old is that?”

“I really don't know.”

“Thousands of years? Ten thousands?”

“Something like that. But the time doesn't always have the same speed in other dimensions.”

Chloe tried to imagine existing for eternity, but failed. How must humans look to them? Living for such a short period of time. Like insect, perhaps? She looked at her companion. “Will your brothers find them?”

“Eventually, I'm sure.”

“Don't they have an angel radar or something like that?”

Robin laughed. “Not if the angel in question doesn't wish to be found.”

“But they found Lucifer in the hospital after he'd been stabbed, so-”

“Actually that was me,” Robin stopped her in mid-sentence. “We talked over the phone, remember? And you told me Lucifer had been attacked. So I dropped by in Heaven and informed Father about it. He sent the archangels to heal him.”

Chloe shook her head. “And what is your deal exactly? Why are you here?”

“I was assigned to protect you. First I didn't understand why. I didn't even know you were friends with Lucifer. When you first mentioned him I thought he was some delusional human. But then I met him and I knew it was him. I thought for time being that I was to protect you from him. Couldn't imagine how would I do that, but... well later I realized I had it wrong. Are you aware Lucifer made a deal with God?”

“Yes,” Chloe remembered their session with doctor Martin. “Lucifer's services for God's protection.”

Robin nodded.

“Wait,” Chloe gulped. “MY protection?”

“Yeah. At least I guess so. Nobody knows about it. Well except Father. But it makes sense. Why else send me on this mission? Don't take it the wrong way, but mothers of prophets aren't so important.”

“Right.”

“Actually if you think about it, it's quite hilarious.”

“Hilarious?” Chloe repeated in disbelief.

“Yeah. I mean Lucifer offers his services for your protection and ends up protecting your daughter.”

“My daughter may be in mortal danger because your Father chose her, without her parents permission or knowledge, and you think it's hilarious?”

“I... I...” Robin stammered.

“You angels are nothing but a bunch of immature idiots!”

“Sorry, didn't mean it that way,” Robin said.

They came to Chloe's house. She jumped out of the car and walked in, slamming the door shut in Robin's face.

The angel stopped at the threshold. “Chloe?” he knocked on the door. “It's locked. Chloe?”

“Sorry, no pets allowed!” she yelled at him and ignored his banging.

“I can get in, you know?”

“And I can shoot you, you know?” Chloe yelled back hoping it was true (hadn't worked with... Rafael?). The banging stopped.

She sat on the couch and mused about everything she had learned. The house was empty and quiet. Trixie and Lucifer gone, Dan in jail, mom on a date, an angel behind her door... she felt truly lonely for the first time in a very long time...


	10. Over the Hills and Far Away

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Let's see where Lucifer's wings are going to carry him...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I realize I cannot compete with the start of the season 2 tonight, but here's another chapter anyway...

Lucifer felt like an Airbus. Minus the first class. No drinks, no TV, no meal, no beautiful stewardess... an average cargo plane then.

Trixie had fallen asleep about an hour after they had left L.A. They were passing a vast desert now, the clouds dissipating around them, leaving them exposed. But the desert was mostly abandoned, the air vibrating with heat and blurring their image for those down there who might have looked up at the right moment.

Lucifer avoided the major cities, steering them over the empty places. He could have landed there, nobody would have noticed, but he didn't. What would they do in the middle of nowhere? With humans miles away? Trixie was a human. She needed food, water, warmth and other necessities. No landing in the middle of nowhere then.

They flew on, Lucifer's wings hurting him like Hell. He hadn't used them in a while, not to mention that this pair was somewhat new and unused. Another thing was he wasn't a bloody vulture to soar in the air for hours without even blinking. He was an angel. He wasn't made to fly for longer periods of time. Another detail his Father had overlooked in his plans.

The only positive thing about this was that he had plenty of time to think. How had Mother found out about Trixie? It's not like someone had informed her about her. Nobody had known about Trixie. Except for the archangels. Had she managed to capture them? Was that why they hadn't reacted to Zadkiel's calls? But even if Mother had captured them, Lucifer was absolutely sure, not one of them would have told her anything. Even under torture. God, he hoped it hadn't come to that. There certainly wasn't a lost love between him and his brothers, but he didn't wish his Mother on anyone.

So if the archangels hadn't told his Mother who the prophet was, then who had? Amenadiel? No, he hadn't known. A spy? Had one gotten into Heaven? Or maybe into his club? But even so, how could he have discovered Trixie's identity?

Or had Michael screwed up removing evidence of the attack in the zoo? But it wasn't like him. If Michael was something, it was thorough.

And why were there so many demons in the school? They didn't need a thousand demons to pick up one little girl. Had they been expecting HIM as well?

Lucifer simply didn't know. But something was nagging at the back of his brain. He was missing something. He was sure about it. But what? What?

Trixie woke up and asked, “Are we there yet?”

“No,” Lucifer replied, not bothering to explain there was no 'place to be'.

She craned her neck trying to see down. Now when there were no clouds, there was something to look at. “Lucifer?”

“Yes, child?”

“I need to use a toilet.”

Lucifer barked with laughter. “Sorry, no toilet on the board.”

“But I really need to,” Trixie pleaded. Well, she hadn't complained until now and they were in the middle of a dessert...

Lucifer landed on a blistering ground. He stretched his wings, legs and arms, looking around. Nothing interesting to be seen.

“Don't look,” Trixie yelled at him while she was taking care of her business.

Lucifer rolled his eyes. “Don't worry, biter, there's nothing I haven't seen before.”

Trixie finished quickly, looking a little bit lost.

“What?” Lucifer asked.

“I am supposed to wash my hands after...”

“Well, and I am supposed to be opening my club in a few hours. We cannot always have what we want.”

Trixie looked around. It was so hot here. She wished she had a bottle of water. She would rather drink it than wash her hands with it.

“Do you think mommy is looking for me?”

Lucifer sighed. “I suppose.” They should probably call her to let her know Trixie was alright. But how would Lucifer explain the abduction of her only child, he had no clue. He marched to Trixie, grabbing his coat that was still on her. He searched the pockets but found nothing. No cell, no ID, no wallet, no money, no credit cards. “Bloody hell!” It must have fallen out somewhere. “You don't have your phone, child, do you?”

Trixie shook her head. “Miss Neubert took it when you called.”

The bloody miss now crazy Neubert... Lucifer should have slapped her... He could leave Beatrice here, take a shortcut through the 'passage' dimension and tell Chloe everything. And then return the same way to Trixie. He could be back in half an hour. But what if something happened to Trixie in the meanwhile? And how would he find Chloe? She wouldn't be sitting on her ass in her home... No, not a good idea... He could summon one of his brothers and send a message to Chloe via him. But what if Mother had really captured them? What if she had gotten into their minds? She could use his brothers to find them, if he called. So he decided against it. And for the same reason he ignored the summons Gabriel was sending him several minutes later.

“Lucifer?”

“Yes?”

“Was it a door to Hell?”

She was referring to the gate that had opened in the school, Lucifer realized. “Yes.”

“And the men, they were demons like in the zoo?”

“Yes.”

“I burned one,” Trixie said.

“Yes, I saw. Good work.”

Trixie beamed, but then she frowned. “How did the school catch fire?”

“That was my doing, I'm afraid,” Lucifer admitted reluctantly.

Trixie shrugged. “It doesn't matter. I didn't like it anyway.”

Lucifer grinned. “I didn't do it on purpose, biter. I was just trying to kill some of those demons.”

“How?”

Lucifer opened his palm and let the light from his fingers form a little star.

Trixie jumped. “It's so cool! Can I do that?”

“No, you can't. Sorry.”

Trixie's face fell. “I still wish I were a superhero. That would be so much better.”

“Can't disagree.”

“And my name would be Hotgirl.” Trixie waved her hands in front of his face.

Lucifer's eyebrows jumped. “Hotgirl? Well, give it a few years and I think you'll get this wish at least.”

“Really?” Trixie's eyes alighted with delight.

“Sure,” Lucifer smiled at her. “Well, I guess we can go now.” He wanted to pick Trixie up, but she perked up, her eyes lighting up again. This could mean only one thing – she had an idea. “Can you carry me the other way around?”

Lucifer snorted. “What? Upside down?”

Trixie sighed heavily. Lucifer could be so childish sometimes. “No, I mean with my front down. I want to see. Please, Lucifer?” she pleaded with a pout.

“Right,” Lucifer breathed and took Trixie into his arms again, this time her back to his front. She was so light he almost didn't feel her weight. Yet holding his hands in the same position for hours was so tiring.

They flew up again and Trixie giggled, waving her arms, imitating a pair of wings. It amazed Lucifer how trusting she was. After they had taken off in L.A. she had gripped him with all her might, probably full of fear of falling down. Now she was waving her arms and kicking her legs, trusting him completely with her safety.

“It's so cool!” she yelled happily.

At least one of them was having fun...

“I wish I had wings like you!”

“Me too,” Lucifer agreed. “Then YOU could carry ME!”

Trixie giggled and kept waving her arms for some time.

The desert was soon replaced by forests and mountains, some of them so high their peaks were covered with snow. Clouds mercifully returned to the sky.

The sun was slowly setting and deep valleys started to harbor an evening mist. Lucifer realized it was their chance to land safely. With the clouds, the mist, the sun behind his back and all the colors and sharp light reflecting on snowy caps of steep mountains, no-one would see him even if the person looked straight at him. “I think we are there now,” he informed his passenger.

He glided lower, a small mountain town coming into view.

“Over there!” Trixie yelled, pointing at a lone building on a hill, well away from the town below.

“Good choice,” Lucifer agreed. They could walk the not so short distance to the center of the town and find a hotel. Or a motel. Or something where they could rest. Without money. God, he needed rest! He would call Chloe to let her know Trixie was OK. She was probably dying of fear right now.

He circled around for a few minutes, waiting for the sun to be just above the horizon, bathing the nature in its dying brilliance, and then he glided slowly down, landing in a safe distance from the building. He folded his wings quickly, setting Trixie on her legs. He stretched his back and arms, groaning in pain.

“What is it?” Trixie pointed to the wooden building.

Lucifer squinted at it and groaned again. Of all the buildings to choose he landed by a church...

*****

It was getting dark outside. Chloe was still sitting on her couch, Trixie's doll in her hand, not bothered by the lack of light. She was trying hard to comprehend that all she had believed her whole life, wasn't really true. Had there even ever been dinosaurs? Or were their bones just a God's joke?

And there was a God. No, not 'a', there was THE God. And Trixie was his prophet. Like Jesus. Or Muhammad. Or Buddha. Wait, was Buddha a prophet or just some kind of a philosopher? And did Muhammad count? Lucifer, archangels... it was the Bible stuff, right? Or were they in the Koran too? She should probably do some studying. And she should probably forget about Buddha. Pity, Buddhism seemed like the only religion she would have professed.

“Oh, God,” she sighed and instantly thought if he could hear her. Or read her mind. If so, she had a lot to say to Him. Like why He let children die. Or the bad guys live for decades. Or why there were hurricanes...

And Lucifer was really... the Devil. He was supposed to be the evil incarnate, yet Chloe had a hard time imagining it. Or imagine him walking through the Hell, ruling the place.

Hell, there was Hell! She should probably be good or she would end up there – or 'end down' there? Well if Lucifer was still down there, it wouldn't be so bad. She wondered if there were any murders to solve. Probably not since everyone down there was already dead...

Was she expected to go to church now? Follow the God's commandments? She didn't even know them! Was Trixie supposed to go to church? And what would she become when she grew up?

And did it mean that she could pray and God would really hear her? Well, she could try... but how? _Please God, sorry I was an atheist, but can you please look after Trixie and Lucifer?_ _My daughter is innocent. And your prophet. And Lucifer... well,_ _I_ _know_ _you guys_ _haven't been_ _talking_ _with each other_ _for a while_ _, but he's not really that bad. And I'm not saying that just because we almost ha_ _d_ _sex._

Shit! She had almost had sex with the Devil! On her kitchen table! What was wrong with her? Why couldn't she just fall for a normal guy?

Chloe massaged her temples. Her head was starting to hurt like hell. All those thoughts were attacking her brain cells without mercy. It felt like there was a storm going on in her head. She wanted to laugh and cry at the same time. And scream. She wanted to scream! She did a little of laughing and a little of crying, but she saved the screaming for another time.

It all soon exhausted her to a halfhearted slumber and clutching her daughter's favorite toy she laid down on the couch.

*****

Lucifer eyed the church with a frown. What was it with humans and their desire to built churches to his Dad on hills?

“Do you think there's some water inside?” Trixie asked with hope.

“Lets see,” Lucifer answered and took her hand. He noticed how cold it was. Well, they were in mountains and it was almost night. He supposed it was expected to be cold here.

He opened the door to the church easily. It was rather small, no cathedral to be sure. He'd been expecting to find at least a bucket of holy water standing near the entrance, but he was disappointed. They walked the aisle between two rows of old looking wooden benches. There was a small altar in the front and a door in the right wall. Lucifer walked to the door, opened it and let a tiny star mold in his palm, illuminating a small room. His tiny star was soon beaten by a flash of light from a bulb. He turned around and found Trixie with her hand on a switch, beaming at him.

Lucifer smirked. “Humans,” he mumbled mostly to himself and absorbed the star back into his body.

“Look!” Trixie yelled and pointed at a small fridge. Before Lucifer moved a step she was upon it, opening its door.

“Look!” she yelled again, cheerfully.

Lucifer peeked in. There was a bottle of water, a bottle of wine (thank you whoever you are), and several sandwiches!

Trixie took the water, Lucifer took the wine and they divided the sandwiches between them – two for Lucifer and three for Trixie. They sat at a table and started to eat hungrily.

The room looked like it was being used only from time to time. There was a small bed with something a very poor citizen would have called 'mattress' on it. And a blanket. Lucifer thought they could stay here. It would probably be wise. They would be safer here. The church being the holy place, no demon could enter...

Lucifer almost choked on his food. A holy place... no demon could enter... How could had he missed that?!

It can't had been a demon who had kidnapped Patrick from the convent. Because no demon could enter it. It meant they must have had an ally. A human? Lucifer didn't believe it. Not because he was naive enough to think humans didn't work with demons, but because his Mother hated humans. She would have never, ever employed one. Or would she?

Or was it an angel?

Pity the crazy stamp girl (Suzie, was it?), hadn't seen the kidnapper, maybe she would have recognized an angel – she had recognized him after all...

Lucifer spat his food out, blurting “bloody hell”.

“Are you OK?” Trixie asked, alarmed.

“Except for the brain, yes!” How could have he been such an idiot? He remembered crouching in front of the girl, asking a simple question: _What did you see, Susie?_ And she had given him a simple answer – in her own way. Only he was stupid enough to see it. The stamp with a fallen angel on it? It wasn't about him at all. It was what she had seen the night Patrick had been taken. An angel.

So it wasn't a human the demons (and Mother) were working with. It was an angel. One of his brothers...  A traitor. Lucifer couldn't imagine, why would any angel want to work with  Mother ...

The obvious question came to hi s mind – who was it?  And more urgently, was it one of the angels he was working with?

Michael? No, that was ridiculous. If Father told him to lick the floor of Hell clean, he would do it without a question. He would never betray God.

Gabriel? No, not him. Certainly not him. Before the fall, Gabriel had been his best friend. Lucifer knew him. He was amiable, and he cared about humans.

Rafael? He sometimes complained about the assignments Father gave him, but he liked humans as well. He would never collaborate with their Mother. Or would he?

The truth be told, it was a very long time ago Lucifer had left Heaven. And he hadn't seen his brothers since (well except for the last couple  of days). And people change d . Angels change d ... The archangels were the only one s who knew the identity of the prophet. Could it  really be one of them? Or all of them? But why to wait until now to go after her? It made no sense... Unless they wanted him to take her? To frame him? Or to  get him  kill ed when fighting the demons? Is that why there were so many of them  in the school ?  No, no, no... surely not.

It could be Zadkiel. He had appeared suddenly, demanding to join Lucifer in his quest to catch Mother. But if it was him, why to warn him the demons were coming for Trixie? And besides why would have he kidnapped his own son? He must have known Patrick wasn't the prophet. Unless he wasn't his son... But no, surely not. No angel would ever admit to father a nephilim voluntarily. It was beyond shame.

Was it Amenadiel then? Had he been forbidden to return to Heaven and chosen to team up with their Mother?  But why to send warning  via Zadkiel  to him about the attack? Also making no sense...

So maybe it was altogether someone else. Anyway, Lucifer knew two things – he couldn't trust anyone and he couldn't summon anyone. And not only because he didn't know who to trust but because the summoning wasn't exactly a private affair. Anyone could listen. He could reveal his location to the traitor.

The thing was, there was only one person he could truly trust – Chloe. But she was out of reach. He hoped she was OK. What if the traitor targeted her? No, she was surely OK. He had a deal with his Father after all. He was looking after her.

But Lucifer knew he needed her. She was probably also the only person who could figure this out and help him form a plan. But it would have to wait till tomorrow. Tomorrow they would walk to the town and he would ask someone somewhere to  lend him a phone. And then he would hope Chloe would believe him.

“Lucifer?” Trixie whispered.

“Hm?”

“Is your brain still hurting?”

Lucifer laughed. “Yes, more than ever. But don't worry, biter. It'll all be better in the morning. Let's get some sleep.”

Trixie nodded and they both fitted on the small bed. It wasn't very comfortable. Lucifer laid on his back and Trixie snuggled against his side. He put the blanket over her, holding her close so she wouldn't fall off the bed. A falling wasn't a pleasant experience, he knew.

She was asleep in a minute, her gentle snoring reminding him of Chloe and making him smile. But the smile died almost instantly. He remembered the last time he'd seen her. Was it only yesterday? The hurt in her eyes... was he really responsible for that? But how? Why should it bother her that he had had a party? He always had parties... And why was he feeling this guilt about the stupid party anyway? Had Linda had it right? Had he really fallen in love? If it was the case he would have to find a cure. This feeling was more bothersome than he cared for. And now he would have to tell Chloe about Trixie. About himself. No, he would have to show her. But would she believe him, that he had taken Trixie for her own safety? That he wasn't the evil one here? Would she ever talk to him again? Or would she fear him and think him a monster like all the other humans?

A strange emptiness crept into his heart. And the utter darkness wasn't helping. The sun had already set and they had switched off the light because it was too bright. Lucifer considered to create a really tiny star just to illuminate his surroundings, but then he would have to concentrate to maintain control over it and couldn't sleep. No stars then...

Oh, but how he hated the darkness! He remembered how he had landed in Hell for the very first time. Just several minutes after they had pushed him out of the gate of Heaven. He had landed on his butt, really, his left wing broken. The place had been dark, cold and empty. Except for the very few creatures locked down there from before the beginning of time, there had been nothing. Just a black ground, thin stinking air and a complete darkness. No human souls yet, the Hell being newly established as a place for punishing sinners.

It was the worst punishment they could have invented for him. He was the creature essentially made of light, and loving company of others. And they had left him completely alone and in the utter darkness. But he wasn't a quitter. No, sir. Not him. So he tried. Oh, how he tried to make Hell better... First he lighted several stars and placed them on the sky of Hell. But they didn't last. They died after several days of wasting away. They died and fell down, turning the black ground to molting lava. So he tried again. He created even bigger stars placing them higher in the sky. But their fate was the same. The Hell simply wasn't able to sustain them and they fell down, turning more ground to a sea of fire. Yet he tried again and again. For several hundred years he tried, until the place was full of fires, reeking with sulfur and ash, shining dimly with fires of the dead stars.

Eventually he stopped trying, leaving the place like that. The light of the dead stars was still better than no light at all. But because of it he was ever connected to Hell. The same way he was still connected to the sun and the stars above.

 

Lucifer dreamed he was in Heaven. It were the voices filling his body like a soft caress. They reminded him of his home, the one before all went to Hell. Quite literally. There had been songs in Heaven. Sometimes it were the souls of the dead, sometimes it were his brothers. And sometimes they woke him from his sleep in the morning and then he joined them...

Lucifer felt someone shaking him urgently. He woke up with a start, the voices gone. He blinked several times, a dim light filling his eyes. Was he in Heaven? Or had he dreamed that? No, this certainly wasn't Heaven. It didn't look like this... But then he realized, with a horror, he didn't remember. He couldn't remember any longer his rooms in the Heaven's palace nor the gardens around. He could scarcely remember the gate, the last thing he had seen before he had been kicked out.

The urgent shaking returned and Lucifer focused on its source – of course, Trixie.

“What is it, biter?” he asked with a yawn. Trixie pointed at the door and Lucifer finally noticed two women standing there, looking at them with disbelief. One of them was older, probably in her sixties, the other pregnant and holding what looked like a pie.

“Oh, hello,” Lucifer greeted them with a smile, trying to charm them a little. He wasn't sure he was successful given his probably very disheveled state. Trixie looked like a hurricane survivor herself. She got off the bed carefully and stood awkwardly, looking at him. Lucifer started to follow her, but groaned with pain, reaching to sooth his back. It felt like it was on fire. The muscles of his wings burned with abuse he had put them through yesterday. So did his back. And neck. And arms. And abs. The only thing that didn't hurt were probably his legs.

“Are you alright?” Trixie whispered.

“Give me a minute,” Lucifer rasped.

The two women in the doorway finally got out of their surprise and the old lady called: “Reverend, could you please come here?”

“Of course, Joan, need some help eating that pie?” An elderly man in a clerical shirt with a collar appeared. He blinked, then frowned, looking from Lucifer to Trixie, but then his features cleared. “It seems our Lord has brought us visitors.”

Lucifer managed to get up and not to comment. He realized he should be as inconspicuous as possible. So when the priest asked, “What's your name, son?” he decided to use his old name.

“Sam-” he stopped in the middle – with the man being a priest there was a chance he would know even this old name of his.

“Sam?” the priest repeated with a slightly narrowed eyes, evidently not believing him. But he said: “As a short of Samuel? It's a good, old christian name.” Lucifer wished Chloe were near so he could die of humiliation.

The priest looked at Trixie. “And what about you?”

Trixie glimpsed at Lucifer just for a second, took a step closer to him and took his hand. And then she replied: “I'm Penny.”

“Oh, what a lovely name,” the old lady sighed, “for a lovely child.”

Lucifer smiled. That little biter really was clever. But still he would have to have a little chat with her about lying...

“Well, Sam and Penny, my name is Adam Belcher. I take it you spent the night here?” The priest asked.

“Yes,” Lucifer replied. “We took the liberty to use your humble accommodation.”

“And we ate your sandwiches,” Trixie whispered, her face covered with guilt.

“And drank the wine, I see,” the priest indicated the empty bottle on the table.

“Yes, we were thirsty,” Lucifer said with a small smile.

“But we didn't mean to steal anything,” Trixie added, suddenly fearing they would get arrested.

The priest smiled. “You don't have to worry about it. This is the house of God, all things here belong to Him. And I'm confident, He recognizes the needs of others over His own.”

“I'd like to have your confidence, padre,” Lucifer uttered.

The old lady noticed that Trixie was eying the pie with obvious longing. “You haven't had any breakfast, have you?”

Trixie shook her head and her stomach rumbled loudly. “Oh, you poor child,” the lady exclaimed and took the pie from the pregnant woman. She put it on the table and beckoned to Trixie. “Here you go. It's with strawberries,” she whispered. Trixie's eyes lit and she reached for it. Then she remembered Lucifer. She looked at him questioningly.

“Go on,” he said. And when she still hesitated, probably waiting for him to join her, he added. “I'm not a pie person myself.”

Trixie frowned. She didn't know any other person who didn't like pies. Maybe it had something to do with him being an angel...

“I'll be right next door,” Lucifer added and follow the priest to the main hall of the church. There were five more people there, most of them elder folks. They all had papers in hands and were discussing something. Lucifer realized they were the source of singing he had heard before. They all gasped with surprise when they saw him, all of them not able to take the eyes off him.

“Dear Lord!” one of the women gasped. “Have angels started to fall from Heaven?”

Lucifer stopped short. He glimpsed around and to his back – no, no wings visible.

“Dora,” the priest admonished her. “That's a blasphemy.”

“Sorry, reverend,” Dora giggled like a teenage girl, although she was about seventy.

“These good people are our choir singers. We meet here every Tuesday and Thursday to practice,” the priest explained.

“At the dawn?” Lucifer asked.

“Yes,” the priest smiled. “Nothing is so good as to start a day with a good song.”

“As strange as it is, I agree with you.”

Lucifer followed the priest out of the church. The sun was still weak but some of its light had already penetrated the clouds to chase away the chill of the morning. The high mountains around them were still casting shadows on the small town below. There was a lake near the town surrounded by forests, which were replaced by slopes of meadows and rocks in higher parts.

“I have no idea how you got here,” the priest begun, looking around and seeing no car. “And I have no idea what kind of trouble you are in. And although this is the house of God, you're still trespassing. I should call the police.” He looked at Lucifer questioningly.

“You are right, padre, we are in some pretty serious trouble. Well, the child is, not me. You won't probably believe me, but I'm just... I'm just trying to keep her safe.”

“I believe you.”

That surprised Lucifer. Did Linda have it right? About not using his own name? “Really?”

“Yes. The child obviously adores you. And beside the dogs children are the best judges of characters.”

“Oh, children can do that too? I mean I used to have dogs. Hounds, really. They were always very good in distinguishing the bad souls from the good ones.”

The priest nodded. “Had a dog myself. What about the police? Can't they help? Our sheriff is an honorable woman.”

Lucifer smiled. “Although I have no doubts about your sheriff's honor, she cannot help us.”

The priest nodded. “As you wish. I won't call her.”

“Thank you. Would you mind if I borrow your cell? There actually may be one cop who can help.”

The priest reached to his pocket and fished out his phone. He handed it to Lucifer. “Call wherever you need.”

Lucifer nodded with a quiet thanks. He knew the number by heart, yet it took him several minutes to dial.

 

Chloe was awaken by the ring of her cell. She got up, her back in pain. The couch wasn't very comfortable. She didn't know the number but it brought her hope. “Decker,” she whispered. There was a silence on the other side. “Hello?”

“Detective?”

“Lucifer!” Chloe breathed with relief. “Is Trixie alright? Is she with you?”

“Yes, yes.”

“Oh, thank God.” Chloe realized her mistake as soon as she had said it.

“No need to thank HIM,” Lucifer returned.

“Can I talk to her?”

“Oh, of course. Wait a minute.” Lucifer returned to the church. “She is eating a pie.”

“A pie?”

“Yes. With strawberries. She's not allergic or anything you humans tend to suffer, is she?” The people inside the church he had just passed gave him a strange look.

“No,” Chloe replied.

“Here you go,” Lucifer said and handed the phone to Trixie. “It's your mom.”

“Mommy!”

“Hi, honey, are you alright?”

“Yes!” Trixie yelled, pieces of the pie flying out of her mouth. “We flew across deserts and-”

Lucifer put his palm over Trixie's mouth, effectively silencing her. “No need to get to details.” Trixie widen her eyes, realizing her mistake. The pregnant woman was still in the room.

“Trixie?” Chloe frowned. What had her daughter meant? They were out of L.A.? “Can you give me Lucifer?”

“She wants you,” Trixie said to her companion and handed him the phone.

“Oh, really?” Lucifer beamed. He marched back out of the church.

“Lucifer, where are you? Could you please bring Trixie home?” She hated how pathetic she sounded.

“I'm sorry, detective, I can't. I would if I could. I swear. But I... bloody hell, it's complicated. It's about my family. There seems to be a traitor among Father's flock. I'll tell you everything. I promise. But I need your help.”

Chloe chewed her lip. A traitor? One of the angels? Well, it wasn't like they seemed trustworthy in the first place... She thought about telling Lucifer she knew, but decided against it. If she told him she had met his brothers, he would probably become suspicious. “OK. I'll help you. Where are you?”

“I need your promise first you will come alone and tell no-one. I realize you have no reason to believe me, but... I need you to trust me on this. Please.”

Chloe hesitated. But if she were to choose between Lucifer and the other angels, her money was on Lucifer. “OK. I promise.”

“Thank you,” Lucifer breathed out with relief. That was surprisingly easy... “And make sure nobody follows you.”

“You mean like weird men in weird clothes?”

“Yes! Have you seen them? Have they hurt you?!”

“No. I'm fine.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yes, Lucifer, I'm sure. Where are you?”

“We're...” Lucifer looked around, not really seeing anything helpful. “Wait a minute, detective.” He lowered the phone and called to the priest: “Where are we?”

“Stony Hill.”

“That's fitting,” Lucifer commented eying the stony slope leading to the town. He was to tell Chloe, but realized a part of the information was missing. “Which state?”

The priest frowned, but replied anyway: “Colorado.”

“We're in Stony Hill, Colorado.”

“Colorado?!” Chloe exclaimed. “How did you even-”

“I'll tell you everything once you get here. But detective, please, be careful and make sure nobody follows you. Especially the men in weird clothes.”

“OK. I'll be there in... in the evening I guess. I'll call you on this number when I arrive, OK?”

“Alright. Ask for Sam. And be careful, Chloe.”

“You too.” _Angel Sam again?_ Chloe thought.

_That went surprisingly well_ , Lucifer mused. He had been expecting lots of arguments from Chloe, not compliance. It wasn't like her. Maybe she was aware of the danger to Trixie? He wondered how well would go the rest of it. What would Chloe do when he told her? Or more precisely showed her? Would she take Trixie and run away? Would she shoot him? Would she... hate him? Lucifer gulped. What would he do then? How would he persuade her he wasn't the enemy?

“Are you alright, son?” the priest asked.

Lucifer shook his head. “Have you ever wished, padre, you were someone else?”

“I have. You see, my father was a priest and he always wanted me to follow in his steps. But I of course had other plans. I wanted to be a soldier. Travel the world, protect the American citizens. We had thousands of fights about it.”

“Ah, difficult fathers. I know a lot about them. I tried to escape mine as well. Guess none of us managed that.”

The priest shook his head. “No, you got it wrong. I had my own way. I fled the home and joined the army at the age of eighteen. Served ten years. Didn't speak with my father the whole time.”

“What happened?”

“I got a message from Dora here, that my father was ill. I returned home.”

“So he got what he wanted at the end.”

“No. Do you know what he told me? He told me that he had been wrong. That he had no right to make decisions for me. Every person must make his own decisions, he said. And take responsibility for them.”

“Looks some fathers can admit their sons are right.”

“But I wasn't,” the priest replied. “I was wrong too. In my haste to defy him I made a decision I would regret for the rest of my life. I killed people. I left a girl here I loved and she married another.”

“Well, padre, if it's any consolation I have several regrets too,” Lucifer admitted reluctantly. “I made some mistakes,” _l_ _ike Linda_ , he thought, “and... I wish I could take them back.”

“Son, mistakes are part of our life. Without them we wouldn't learn anything. The important thing is what we do after the mistake. Trying to make them right makes our love ones and the God proud.”

Lucifer snorted. “Well, I don't think I can do anything to please God. He gave up on me a very long time ago. I guess I'm not good enough for Him.”

The priest indicated the church. “The girl. She's not yours, is she?”

Lucifer laughed. “Not in the way you think, padre.”

“How did you end up protecting her?”

Lucifer shrugged. “Not by my choice. I guess you can say God made me do it.”

“Would you have done differently if He hadn't made you do it?” the priest asked.

Lucifer thought for a long while. “No, I think I wouldn't have.”

“Why?”

“Because she would get hurt.”

“Son, I don't know much about God, but I know one thing about children. They are the most valuable thing people have. So if the Lord entrusted you with the girl, He sure as hell didn't give up on you.”

Lucifer frowned at the priest. “Did my Father send you?”

The priest laughed. “I'm sure I don't know your Father.”

*****

After Chloe had hanged up she thought hard. She probably still had her unwanted guardian angel on the porch. More like a jailor, really. He was one of the possible traitors. One she had to avoid. She quickly scribbled a note for her mother, leaving it on the fridge, saying she and Trixie had gone to holiday with Lucifer. Only her mother could believe something like that...

She thought about her job and about the kidnapped boy, but decided they would have to solve this one without her. It was awful to admit, but Trixie was more important than Andy to her. She knew she could live with the guilt of leaving Andy to the kidnappers. But she would never be able to live with the guilt of leaving her own daughter. And if she got fired? Well, she had bigger issues right now. Like God, angels, prophets, demons... ugh... life had used to be so easy...

She changed quickly into dark, uninteresting clothes, packed a small bag, and proceeded to exit her own home through a window.

She walked a block, walked to a bank and withdrew all of her money (it really wasn't that much). She then used metro to travel several stations, and then took a taxi. She got off on the bus station. She was almost sure nobody had followed her. She didn't know much about angels, but she decided not to risk anything. That was the reason she had destroyed her cell during the journey here and wouldn't use her credit card (it could both be tracked). And it was the reason she wouldn't fly.

She bought a ticket to Las Vegas. Once there she took a fast lunch, bought a map of Colorado, a new phone and a very old Ford, giving the seller almost all of her money. It barely looked like it was able to move, but it didn't matter. It could move, although it made funny noises and smelled like an old cat. This was going to be a very long drive...

*****

“What are you going to do?” the priest asked Lucifer after the morning meeting had finished. The people were slowly walking down the slope to the town below. None of them had come here by a car, Lucifer noticed. But they probably couldn't. The hill was so steep an average car would probably had a lot difficulty to get here.

“We'll wait for the child's mother, I guess. She will come in the evening.”

“You should probably come to the town with us. There's a diner. Dora owns it,” the priest indicated the old lady who had called Lucifer an angel. “You can get a decent meal there. Lord knows you probably need it.”

“Yes, well, there's a little problem in that. We don't have any money. I have lost my wallet and phone and everything that was in any of my pocket it seems.”

“Dora,” the priest called to the lady in her seventies.

“Yes, dear?”

“Sam and Penny are in need of some good breakfast. And lunch too,” the priest said and pulled out his wallet giving the woman some money.

“Oh,” the woman exclaimed. “No need for this, reverend. I can afford to feed two stray souls.”

Lucifer groaned. This was so humiliating. “No, no, no. There's no need for that. I can do without a meal for a day!”

“And what about Penny?” the priest asked.

Lucifer hesitated. “How long can children go without nourishment before they start to suffer?”

Dora and the priest looked at each other.

“Sam,” Dora said, “you don't know much about children, do you?”

“That's not true!” Lucifer replied. “I know absolutely nothing about children.”

“Oh, dear,” Dora sighed. “It's even worse than we thought. Sammy, every child needs to eat at least three times a day. Five times is better.”

“Five times?” Lucifer repeated in disbelief. “Well, I guess, I'll take you on your offer then. But I should repay you somehow.”

Dora beamed. “Don't worry about that, Sammy,” she said.

 

They were marching down to the town. Trixie was wearing Lucifer's suit jacket, the thing so big she almost fitted in it twice. She was holding Lucifer's hand and was trotting happily next to him. With every step Lucifer made, she made three. She was fed with the pie (for now) and she knew Chloe would come later, therefore the happiness, Lucifer deduced.

They attracted a lot of attention. Every other person they met on the street stopped the reverend and asked the obvious question. Very soon the whole town knew about him and Trixie, seemingly appearing from nowhere. Not very inconspicuous then...

Dora lead them to her diner. It wasn't very big and at this hour it was almost empty. A young, plump girl with a lot of make-up applied on her face was standing behind the bar, chewing a gum soundly and reading a magazine. She raised her head when she heard the door open and instantly stopped chewing. She stared at Lucifer with her jaw slacked.

“Rose,” Dora said to the girl, “this is Sam and Penny. They are in a need of a good breakfast.”

Rose giggled, chewed her lower lip and winked at Lucifer several times.

Lucifer sighed. He knew the look very well. “Don't even think about it. Trust me, I'm very addictive.”

“But I'm a virgin,” Rose whimpered. The reverend and Dora gasped.

“Good for you,” Lucifer exclaimed. “Save it for your future husband.” He couldn't believe he had just said that, but he really wasn't in a right place, time or a company for sex right now.

“Are you married, sir?” she asked him.

Lucifer rolled his eyes. This one was more than simple. Her most secret desire was apparently sex and he hadn't even had to ask her to make her tell him.

“That's enough, Rose,” Dora admonished her. “I'm not paying you to get yourself a husband. Now go tell the chef to make them some breakfast.”

Rose pouted but obeyed anyway.

“Lu- ehm... Sam?” Trixie asked.

“Yes, child?”

“What's a virgin?”

Lucifer's eyes grew wide. Why him of all angels? “It's an unfortunate state of ignorance you'll get rid of in ten years if you're lucky.”

Trixie frowned, probably not comprehending fully.

“Oh dear,” Dora whispered. “You weren't exaggerating when you said you knew nothing about children.”

Lucifer excused himself then and walked to the toilet. He looked in the mirror and almost fainted. His shirt was dirty, creased horribly and had two holes in it. But it wasn't the worst part. The worst part was his hair. It curled wildly in all directions, rebelling against his efforts to tame them. Oh, hell. He needed a comb at least. A setting lotion would be better. He couldn't understand what the girl, Rose, had seen in him in this state.

He returned in a few minutes, not looking or feeling any better. But at least there was a breakfast waiting for him on the table. Trixie was already eating her helping of what looked like scrabbled eggs. Lucifer eyed her suspiciously – what she had done with the pie? Surely it couldn't have all fitted inside her, not with the zeal she was eating the eggs.

He sat down and took a bite. And then he almost spitted it out.

“Good?” Dora asked.

“Not really. Who's cooked this?”

“Steve, my chef.”

“Chef?” Lucifer repeated. “You call the creator of this a chef?”

“What's wrong with that?” Dora asked and took a bite from Lucifer's plate. “It tastes like always.”

“You mean burned, with too much salt and oil or whatever is in it? Excuse me,” he stood up and headed to the kitchen.

Grunts, yells and exclamations were coming from the kitchen for the next twenty minutes. Then Lucifer reemerged, a plate of scrambled eggs in his hand. “Here,” he put it in front of Dora. “Try this.”

Dora looked at it suspiciously. It looked too good to taste good... But she tried it anyway and the moment she swallowed the first bite, her eyes rolled heavenwards. “Oh, Sammy, that is... that is... orgasmic.”

Lucifer beamed.

“I mean I haven't had an orgasm for about ten years,” Dora continued, “but this is the closest thing to it.”

“Dora, language,” the reverend admonished her.

“You know what?” Dora ignored the priest, “you cook here today and you can eat whatever you want.”

“Deal,” Lucifer agreed happily.

“Sam?” Lucifer looked at Trixie. Her forehead was furrowed, which meant she was thinking about something and a question would probably soon follow... “What's an orgasm?”

Lucifer's happy face changed to a wry one. “Dora will tell you.” He said and quickly disappeared in the kitchen.

There was more shouting and after a while an angry chef Steve walked out of it. “You let that playboy to take my kitchen?” he yelled at Dora.

“It's not your kitchen, Steve. And I don't want you to walk away. On the contrary. I think, you could learn something from him.” Dora said and kept eating the best eggs she had ever tasted.

Steve was steaming, but he returned to the kitchen nevertheless.

Trixie was staring at Dora patiently.

“I guess, you haven't forgotten you question, have you?” Trixie shook her head. “I was afraid of that. Well, an orgasm is an intense feeling you get after you find the right man.”

 

The day passed. Lucifer cooked, Trixie 'helped', Steve really learned something and happy costumers were more generous with their tips than usual.

Lucifer grew more agitated with every hour, the time of Chloe's arrival quickly approaching.

The reverend offered Lucifer that they could spend the night at his house. There was a spare bedroom.

It was nine o'clock when the reverend's phone rang. It was an unknown number. “I suppose it's your friend,” reverend handed the phone to Lucifer.

“Hello?”

“Lucifer. I'm in the town. Where are you?”

Lucifer took a deep breath and navigated Chloe to the southern end of the town. The house was located off the main road, quite away from other citizens.

“Mommy!” Trixie squealed and jumped at Chloe as soon as she got out of the car.

“Oh, I missed you so much!” Chloe hugged her daughter tightly kissed her all over her face. “Are you OK?”

Trixie nodded and Chloe then focused her attention on Lucifer. His guts clenched and his heart started to beat double. This was it. This was the time and place Chloe would find out the truth about him. What would happen then he had no idea...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I invented the town in Colorado, so don't try to find it on a map. And if by any chance there really is a town of this name in Colorado, I sincerely apologize for using it so shamelessly.


	11. Solving the Case

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Chloe and Lucifer need to have a long conversation. And hopefully they will solve the case during the process.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry, guys, this is another "slow" chapter, but it turned up Chloe and Lucifer had lot to say.

“Chloe,” Lucifer greeted her, his voice gruff.

“Sam,” Chloe drawled, her eyes narrowed. She spotted an older man standing by a door.

“This is Adam Belcher,” Lucifer introduced him. “He's a priest. He graciously offered us accommodation.”

Chloe nodded. “Nice to meet you.”

“Interesting vehicle,” Lucifer indicated the pathetic excuse for a car with a halfhearted smile.

“Well, I had to get here somehow and after your cryptic call I didn't dare to use my own car.”

Lucifer gulped. “I guess we should talk.”

“Really?” Chloe asked sarcastically.

“Come on, Penny,” the reverend called to Trixie. “Let them have some privacy.” He took the girl inside and closed the door.

“There's a porch at the back,” Lucifer said. “With a swing. Maybe we should go there.”

Chloe nodded and let Lucifer lead her to the back of the house. He seated her on the swing and took several steps back.

And Chloe waited. She really wanted to know what and how he was going to tell her.

“Right,” Lucifer uttered, his heart beating rapidly. Wasn't there a speed limit for that organ? He took a deep breath and looked in Chloe's eyes. She was staring at him expectantly. “I know how strange it seems that I took your little offspring, but there was a good reason for it. I will tell you, but first... I promised you I would tell you just once again that I'm the Devil. At the right time. I think this is the right time. So... I'm the Devil and I'm going to prove it to you.”

Chloe stopped breathing. When she had arrived, all she could have thought of was Trixie. And then she had seen Lucifer, her friend Lucifer, not the Devil Lucifer. Only now was she remembering her meeting with the angels. And Lucifer was one of them. An angel and the Devil at the same time. He wasn't human. He was... something beyond her comprehension. And now he would show her.

“Just remember, detective, it is still me. Your partner in crime,” Lucifer tried to joke. “No need to be afraid. You can always shoot me, anyway...” Why was he telling her THAT? He shook his head to clear it. He had been debating with himself earlier whether to show her his wings or his connection to Hell. He had chosen the wings. They were less scary. And being the mother of a prophet there was a very good chance she wouldn't go crazy. So he took a deep breath, prepared for the worst and unfolded his wings slowly, spreading them wide. He felt more naked than he had ever felt before in his entire life.

Chloe's eyes widened, and her chin dropped. She had never ever seen anything more beautiful. “Oh my God! You have your wings back!”

Lucifer opened his mouth to reply, but then he shut it instead. That wasn't the reaction he had been anticipating. Screaming, fainting, shooting, yes. This? No.

“How did you get them back?” Chloe asked.

“Very painfully... ah... detective, I must say you are reacting better than I've expected. I thought you would scream, faint or shoot me. Or do all of it.”

Chloe waved her hand, still staring at the wings with awe. “Been there, done that.”

Lucifer frowned. “What?”

“I met your brothers yesterday.”

“What?!”

“After I left the burning school and the demons lurking there.”

“WHAT?! What did they do to you?”

“Who? Your brothers or the demons?”

“Both!”

“Well, your brothers... no. They just told me about God and Trixie being His prophet.”

“And you believed them? I mean you never believed me, but you believed them?”

“There were some wings involved.”

“Bloody hell. And the demons? They didn't hurt you, did they?”

“They tried, but Robin helped me.”

“Oh, Mr. Proper was there with you, was he?!” Lucifer scowled.

“Yes.”

“Can't say I'm surprised.”

“But you can't really blame him. He was just doing his job.”

“Oh, really?” Lucifer yelled. “And what's that? Sniffing around your skirt all the time?”

“You can say that, yeah. He's here to protect me, apparently.”

“So he's appointed himself as your guardian dog, has he?”

“More like a guardian angel. He is your brother, did you know?”

Chloe smirked while watching Lucifer's face turn to a grimace. “Well, of course you didn't know.”

“My brother?” Lucifer repeated with disbelief and a bit of loathing.

“The youngest one. And it was your Father who charged him with my protection. Robin mentioned something about the God – Devil agreement?”

Lucifer pressed his lips hard. Chloe smiled at him sweetly, well aware she was making him uncomfortable. Let him squirm a little, he certainly deserved it for taking her daughter without telling her about all this.

“That was a... a...” Lucifer stammered trying to find the right words. It was so humiliating – he never stammered!

Chloe got off the swing and sauntered to him slowly. “Yes?”

Lucifer shook himself. She was giving him the look again... “A... a... result of unfortunate circumstances.”

Chloe stopped just about two feet in front of him, arms akimbo, trying not to stare at the wings.

Lucifer gulped. “I wasn't thinking straight. My brain was almost without blood. And not for a good reason.”

Chloe nodded. “What would have you done if your brain had been in the right shape?”

Lucifer blinked. “Well I would have asked Father for something more... sensible. Like making you immortal or turning you into an angel or strike Malcolm dead on the spot.”

Chloe dug her fingers into her hips to stop herself from doing something silly. Like jump at him and kiss him senseless. If she did that, she would probably see his wings in action, carrying him far away from Chloe Decker.

“Could have thought Father would send one of his sons to do His job. Thinking about it I could have found someone myself to do my job and take care of that little biter of yours.”

Chloe looked at his wings again. “Trixie said on the phone that you... did you fly here? Like...” she indicated his wings.

“Well, what do you think, love? That this is my new 'Devil may care' look,” he indicated his creased shirt and barely tamed hair.

“You flew all the way?”

“I told you I have a tremendous stamina,” he joked, noticing her renewed interest in his wings. “And you can touch, by the way. Anywhere you want to,” he added with a smirk.

Chloe snorted but accepted his invitation. She put her finger to the top of his wing and caressed it carefully. It felt almost coarse, not soft as it seemed.

Lucifer watched her intently for several seconds and then he realized something: “You're not afraid of me,” he whispered with a wonder.

“Why would I be?” Chloe asked and Lucifer smiled one of his sincere smiles. It made Chloe want to do things she shouldn't. Chloe smiled at him: “I mean I can always shoot you, angel Sam.”

Lucifer jerked. “Please don't call me that!”

“Why not? It's a fitting punishment for what you've done.”

“You mean saving your offspring?” he protested indignantly.

“I mean keeping me in the dark about all of this! You should have told me.”

“I couldn't. I promised I wouldn't. But I was going to. After we would have caught our Mother.”

“So instead of telling me you took my daughter without my knowledge and flew with her over half U.S.”

“I only did it to save her. From the demons. Remember? The ugly creatures in weird clothes?”

Which he had really done... Chloe had to admit. “Yes. I remember.” Chloe shook her head. “I don't know whether to kiss you or spank you!” Chloe realized her mistake as soon as she finished the sentence. “Please, don't say anything,” she added hastily.

Lucifer smirked. “You can do both, detective. Preferably at the same time. I won't resist. Promise.” He lifted two fingers in a scout honor gesture.

“Of course you had to say that,” Chloe sighed. “My daughter is wanted by some gruesome creatures and you are making sexual jokes.”

“What else should I be doing? Crying?”

“No, but a little adult attitude would be nice.”

Lucifer scoffed. “Oh, here we go again. Let me inform you that I've been very adult these last couple of days.”

Chloe snorted. “You mean like the day before yesterday? When you were having a grand party?”

“What is wrong about having a party?”

“Maybe that Trixie was in danger and instead of looking after her you were having sex!”

“I wasn't having sex.”

“Of course. And the almost naked woman hanging on your neck was your doctor just giving you a thorough examination.”

“It wasn't like that! I didn't... Wait a minute...” Lucifer smiled, “are you jealous?”

Chloe snorted. “No, I'm not.”

“You are jealous,” Lucifer repeated with a grin.

“No, I'm not jealous.” Chloe glared at him.

“I think you are.” Lucifer kept grinning like an idiot making Chloe fume.

“Why would I be jealous of that... that... floozy!”

“Why indeed,” Lucifer teased.

Chloe spread her arms wide. “Why are we even having this conversation? We should be focusing on the problems at hand.”

“Like your jealousy.”

“No! Like Trixie. And talking about her, what time is it anyway?” Chloe looked at the setting sun. She didn't know what time it was but she was sure it was way past Trixie's bed time. “I'm going to put her to bed. We'll continue this later.”

“Gladly,” Lucifer grinned again. He watched her walked back into the house. He finally folded his wings and sat on the swing. He started swinging back and forth watching the sunset. He felt good. Relieved. Alive. He had imagined all sorts of outcome of this revelation but never this. It went really well. But that was maybe because Chloe had already known.

Lucifer stopped swinging. She had come here, knowing the truth about him. Well, of course she had come. She would have done anything for Trixie. But she had come alone. None of his brothers at her tail. Which meant she trusted him. Lucifer beamed and started to swing again.

 

It took Chloe about forty minutes to put Trixie to bed. The priest had given them a spare bedroom, unfortunately with only one bed. Which meant Chloe would have to share with her daughter. And Lucifer was to sleep on a couch in a next room. She almost felt pity for him.

She found him on the swing gently swinging and watching the night sky. It was nothing like in L.A. here. All the stars with Milky Way were clearly visible, not diminished by the lights of civilization.

She sat next to him with two cups of coffee and handed him one.

“Thank you,” Lucifer said and took a sip. “Well, you certainly can't cook, but at least you know how to make a coffee.”

Chloe rolled her eyes.

“That was a compliment, detective.”

“Hm... Trixie has just asked me if I got over my virgin state. Has that something to do with you?”

Lucifer smiled innocently. “Detective, how could I possibly know if you're still virgin or not.”

Chloe snorted. “She also said something about having superpowers.”

“Oh, that one has something to do with me.”

Chloe frowned. “What? You... you gave her some powers?”

“My brothers haven't told you?”

“What?”

Lucifer shifted on his seat. “If you want to create a prophet, you have to take a divine object and put it inside the expecting mother. Like say a shiny white feather from the certain archangel.”

Chloe paled. “Put how? When? By whom? You?”

“No. Rafael did it. Probably when you were sleeping. And don't worry, no kinkiness involved. It just sucked in through your belly... I guess.”

“I think I'm gonna throw up.”

“Won't help. It's part of you forever.”

Chloe shook her head and frowned at Lucifer. “I can't believe that.”

“Don't look at me like that, detective. It wasn't my idea. Trust me, if I had it my way, I would have put a much better and bigger part of me inside you and the result would have been equally divine.”

Chloe groaned. “Ugh, Lucifer... not helping. I feel like a was... raped.”

“The feeling is mutual. Rafael did it without my permission. Or knowledge.”

“Frustrating, is it not? When somebody does things concerning you without your knowledge.”

Lucifer grimaced. He would probably never hear the end of it.

“So what kind of powers does she have?”

Lucifer shrugged. “Don't know yet. She's too young. Most of them will probably develop in coming years. All she can do now is make herself very hot.” Lucifer smirked. “Must have from me.”

Chloe rolled her eyes. “Right. So what does it mean, anyway? Being a prophet?”

“Well, when she grows up, she'll deliver Father's message to the humans and they either will listen or they won't.”

Chloe thought about Jesus. About the few things she knew about him. “Will she be hurt? Or... killed?”

Lucifer turned to Chloe fully. “I won't let her get hurt. I promise, detective.”

Chloe nodded. “I believe you.”

Lucifer smiled one of his honest smiles. It was the second one in this evening and Chloe had to look away fearing she might do something stupid otherwise. She concentrated on Trixie. “But to keep Trixie from getting hurt I guess we have to catch the traitor you were talking about this morning?”

“Yes,” Lucifer agreed. “I suppose I should tell you the whole sordid story. You know my Mother, the former Queen of Heaven is looking for the prophet, right? Well, the thing is that nobody knew who the prophet was except for Father and my archangel brothers. I myself learned the truth after the attack at the zoo.”

Chloe nodded. “The men weren't after you, they were after Trixie.”

“Yes. But because they didn't know who the prophet was they were following an energy signature the use of the superpower leaves behind. We met this boy and a girl in the zoo and Trixie got really angry. She had a fight with that girl and her power kicked. And the demons came after her.”

“So they have known it's Trixie since then.”

“No. Not that easy. I killed them all. And Michael took care of the evidence.”

Chloe frowned. “The missing bodies of the attackers? That was your brother?”

Lucifer nodded. “So the demons still didn't know then. But...” Lucifer took a deep breath... “Trixie wasn't the only one they had tried to kidnap.”

Chloe's eyes widened. “Andy and Patrick?”

Lucifer nodded reluctantly.

Chloe jumped off the swing and started to march in front of him. “You have known all the time who did that and you haven't said anything?!”

“I couldn't, detective. And there was no point, anyway. Mother had them and the whole Heaven was – is looking for her. There was nothing you could have done.”

Chloe stared at him in disbelief. “Maybe I could have stopped feeling so incompetent. Or maybe I could have been solving another case, and not wasting my time on this!”

“I'm sorry, detective.”

Chloe stopped and took several deep breaths. “OK. So why did she take them? Are they prophets too?”

Lucifer shook his head. “No, they are nephilims.”

“What's that?”

“It's a child of an angel and a human.”

Chloe lifted her eyebrow. “One of yours? Guess there must be thousands of them running the streets of L.A.”

“No, it doesn't work like that. No angel can have a child in normal circumstances. And I can assure you I certainly don't have any.“

“So how do you make one?”

“There's a tree in Heaven with forbidden fruit.”

Chloe snorted. “Something like a passion fruit?”

“No, it's actually an apple tree. But it has a certain power. It releases a hidden potential within angels. And with some it means they can procreate for a time being. But it's forbidden to eat it.”

“Somebody broke the rules?”

“Looks like.”

“Why?”

Lucifer shrugged. “Maybe he just wanted to get high. The fruit can do that too.”

Chloe spread her arms. “OK. So you're saying he is the traitor, because he ate an apple?”

“Not necessarily. I met Patrick's father the day we found his body. His name is Zadkiel. He admitted he had fathered Patrick and he offered his help to find our Mother.”

Chloe shook her head. “I still don't understand, Lucifer. Why do you think there's an angel traitor?”

“Because no demon can enter a holy place and the convent Patrick was kidnapped from is a holy place. And before you say it could have been a human, please remember the stamp girl, the potential witness? When I asked her what she had seen, she gave the stamp of a fallen angel. I thought it was me then, but now I think she just answered my question.”

“Oh, God.” Chloe sat back on the swing. “Do you have any suspects?”

“As I said before, only the archangels knew about Trixie.” Lucifer shook his head. “But I just can't imagine any of them would betray Father. And besides they have known the whole time. Why to wait until yesterday?”

Chloe nodded. “Tell me what happened yesterday, exactly.”

Lucifer told Chloe about the yesterday events. About Zadkiel bringing him message from Amenadiel about the planned attack. And then about the attack itself.

“So besides the archangels, only Amenadiel and Zadkiel were in touch with you?”

Lucifer nodded. “Well, and Mr. Proper, of course.”

Chloe shook her head. “Why to save me from the demons if he worked with your Mother? Wouldn't it be better to take me as a hostage?”

“Of course you're defending him!”

“Who's jealous now?” Chloe asked with a smile. “Let's stick with Amenadiel and Zadkiel.”

“Fine. But I don't think it was any of them. I mean – why to warn me the demons were coming for Beatrice?”

Chloe thought hard. “Lucifer, did Zadkiel mention her name?”

“What?”

“When he warned you, what exactly did he say?”

“That Mother knew and the demons were coming for... the prophet. What are you thinking, detective?”

“Maybe it wasn't warning at all. Maybe it was a trap.”

“What?”

“Maybe they didn't know about Trixie. Maybe the only thing they knew was that you knew the prophet's identity.”

This time it was Lucifer who got up from the swing and started to pace. “Bloody hell! They tricked me. ME! They just send me after her and followed me. I lead them straight to her! Like an idiot! That's why there was half the Hell there – they WERE expecting me.” He wanted to punch something. Desperately. “Maybe you should look for another guardian angel for your daughter. I am obviously doing a marvelous job,” he said sarcastically.

Chloe stood up and walked to him, stopping his striding. “You couldn't have known, Lucifer. Your intention was good.”

Lucifer snorted. “Yeah, we all know where good intentions lead, right?”

“It wasn't your fault.”

“Wasn't it?” he yelled agitatedly, brushing his hand through his hair. “I almost had Trixie kidnapped. Do you know what my Mother is like? What she would do to her?”

Chloe gulped. She didn't. And she didn't want to know. “It's in the past, we cannot change it. You tried, Lucifer, and that's what counts. Now, let's focus on the present, OK?”

Lucifer nodded and let Chloe lead him back to the swing. “Did Amenadiel and Zadkiel knew about your knowledge of prophet's identity?”

“Yes.”

“So they are our main suspects,” Chloe concluded. “Zadkiel warned you, but according to him it was Amenadiel who had given him the message. My money is on Zadkiel. Appeared just after Patrick had been murdered. What a coincidence...”

Lucifer shook his head. “But why to kidnap his own son? It was the angel traitor who had taken Patrick from the convent. So why to take him at all when he must have known Patrick was a nephilim?”

“Maybe he didn't. How do you know that he really is Patrick's father?”

“Because he admitted it. It's a severe offense to create a nephilim. He will get punished if Father or the other archangels find out. And besides, admitting this is like for a human to admit he has incontinence.”

“But you have no proof, just his word?”

Lucifer stared at Chloe for a while. “You think he said that just to get close to me? That he knew back then I knew who the prophet was?”

“Could he?”

Lucifer shrugged. “I honestly don't know. Maybe he eavesdropped the archangels in Heaven? Or maybe he somehow discovered it was me who had killed the demons in the zoo? I don't know, detective.”

“There is one more thing,” Chloe said. “How common is it for an angel to father a child?”

”Pretty rare.”

“Did you know that Patrick and Andy were born within two days?”

Lucifer shook his head, not comprehending.

“Which suggests they were conceived practically at the same time.”

“You think they have the same father?” Lucifer asked.

“Well, it's very probable. So why would Zadkiel admit only to the one of them?”

Lucifer's eyes lit up: “Because Patrick was an orphan. Andy on the other hand has a mother...”

“...who can identify the father,” Chloe completed.

“They killed Patrick and left him for me to find so Zadkiel could get close to me and find out the identity of the prophet. But because I refused to tell him, he set a trap telling me Beatrice was in danger and let me bring him right to her. Oh, detective, I'm going to tear him inside out. I'm gonna chop off his wings and ram them in his ass, one after another and then-”

“OK, OK,” Chloe stopped him. “Before the tearing begins, let's think. We can't just go after Zadkiel alone. We need help.”

Lucifer sco wl ed. “Oh, you mean my lovely brothers? They will probably kill  me  on the spot and ask questions later. I bet they think I kidnapped Beatrice to do some evil stuff.”

“That's why we need a proof first that it was a trap.”

“And how do we get one, exactly?”

“Like you said – Andy's mother can identify the father. So let's call her and ask her. If she proves it isn't Zadkiel, then we know almost for sure he's been lying. And if she gives us a name, we can get in touch with him and make him admit he's Patrick's father too.”

“Right, let's do that,” Lucifer jumped off the swing and started to walk to the house.

“Lucifer,” Chloe called him gently. “It's middle of the night. Miss Brooks is most likely sleeping and I'm pretty tired too. It can wait till tomorrow.”

Lucifer sighed dramatically, but returned to her.

“Drink your coffee,” Chloe said to him. He sat back next to her and took the cup. Chloe took a blanket from the banister of the porch and covered herself. It was getting really cold. She drank her own coffee, which was already almost cold. She shivered despite the blanket.

“Come here,” Lucifer whispered and put his arm around her shoulders, pulling her near. “Being the Devil has it's advantages. I'm always hot.” He grinned and increased his body temperature.

Chloe sighed  with pleasure  and  laid her head on  Lucifer's arm . “Why me?”

“Wrong deity, love. But I can see why Father chose you.”

She looked at him questioningly.  “ Why?”

Lucifer smirked. “Because there wasn't anyone better.”

Chloe blushed. She hoped Lucifer didn't see it in the dark. And it was almost dark. There was no bulb on the porch. There were only stars and the moon. Chloe looked up again, admiring the beauty of it. “They are so beautiful.”

“Thank you.”

“For what?”

“For complimenting my creation.” Lucifer indicated the starry sky.

Chloe stared at him. “YOUR creation?”

“Well, yes. Didn't my brothers tell you anything? When Father created the universe, there was nothing at first. Only space. But He had bigger plans than that. But He was also lazy and didn't want to spend millenniums by creating the less interesting things. So he created the archangels and gave every one of them the power to create a certain element. Michael can create ground, Rafael fluids, Gabriel air and I can create fire. Or stars, if you want to call it that.” And he demonstrated his ability by creating a tiny star in his hand.

Chloe jumped. “Oh, God.”

“You must really stop saying that, detective.”

“Sorry,” she said, mesmerized by the little shining object in his palm. But Lucifer made it disappear again in a sec. “So the God instructed you to create the stars?”

Lucifer shook his head, a small smile on his lips. “It wasn't so easy. There weren't any stars in the beginning. The only thing he wanted me to create was the sun.”

He remembered the dawn of humans... “So the first people had only the sun to shine over them during the day. But in the night it was absolute darkness. No stars, no moon. But they were so scared of the dark. So I pleaded with my Father to allow them the light in the night as well, but he said no. He said that you needed to sleep in the night. And the bright light would have disturbed you. But the universe was vast. And mostly empty at the time. So I decided I could make more suns for the humans to shine in the night, but put them just far enough as not to shine too bright. I created a thousand stars, placing them so the people could see them in the night. My Father found out of course and was angry with me, but then he took a look. We were standing on Earth in the place pyramids were built several thousands years later, and watching them shine in a distance. I remember Him saying to me, 'Oh, Samael, that is beautiful.' He allowed me to create more of them then.”

Chloe could scarcely breath. It was like a fairytale, but it was real. All that beauty humans always watched with regard, giving them hope and inspiration even now that there was something else out there, something greater than the human race, be it God, fate or aliens, all this was created by the man sitting next to her.

“And what about the moon?”

Lucifer growled. “That is Michael's doing. When he saw the stars, he got jealous and created that piece of rock, placing it thus the light of the sun reflected on it in the night. Saying it shone more than my stars altogether.”

Chloe laughed. “He got jealous, you say? Had you been by any chance bragging about the stars?”

Lucifer smiled. “Maybe.” His smile vanished though when he noticed Chloe was giving him that look again. The one he couldn't decipher. The one making his entrails turn into a jelly and his brain into a mush. The one making him lose control. That was something he couldn't afford though. Especially not now. He needed to stay focus on the things regarding his Mother and the traitor, not focusing on Chloe's lips. Yet it was exactly what he was doing. He loved those lips. So full, so wide, he wondered how they would look around his- _Stop that! Don't imagine that!_ he yelled at himself, but his brain didn't obey.

“Are you OK?” Chloe asked.

“Fine,” Lucifer rasped, looking anywhere but at her.

Chloe frowned. Something had just changed in the atmosphere. It had been pleasant, the silence strangely reassuring. But then she had thought about kissing him, again. And somehow he'd sensed her thoughts and distanced himself, turning the sweet silence into an uncomfortable one. Chloe wasn't surprised. He might have always complained about the lack of sex, but she knew he mostly did it to keep the distance between them. He knew she wasn't the one night stand type. It was like a game... as long as he was offering just the sex, she could keep refusing him. And their friendship was safe. But once they had the sex, their relationship would shift into something else. Probably something uncomfortable. Something that would lead to a breakup. And they both knew it. No need to get to the hot waters. No need to mention a certain morning involving her kitchen table...

But Chloe finally got it. Why he changed his sexual partners faster than his socks. And she really couldn't blame him. He was immortal, after all. He had been here when the Earth had been created and he would be here when it is destroyed. Why should he ever be interested in a long term relationship with someone? With her? So he could watch her grow old and die? And 'long term' was very relative here, wasn't it? For her it would be a lifetime. For him it would be a fleeting moment in eternity. She should really stop thinking about him in a romantic way. It wasn't like he loved her, anyway. Or... was it? He cared for her, she was sure. Probably a lot giving his deal with the God, but love? Did he even know it? There was really no point trying to figure it out now. Right now they had much bigger problems...

“It's late. I should go to bed,” Chloe whispered and stood up. Lucifer watched her go. He sensed a shift in her mood. Something had made her sad. He didn't know what it was, but he wished he could make it go away.

*****

Robin was restless. He had spent the whole day on Chloe's porch. He had tried to reason with her several times during the day, but she hadn't responded. The police department had called several times wanting to know his and Chloe's whereabouts. So he had lied and told them they were on a lead to the kidnappings.

It was getting late. The sun was setting. He should have probably checked if she was alright hours ago. But he didn't dare to breach her privacy. So he hadn't.

“Oh, hello there!” he heard behind his back. He turned and saw Penelope coming his way.

“Mrs. Decker! It's nice to see you.”

“Nice to see you too, Robin. Are you here for Chloe?”

“Ehm, yes. I just wanted to ring the bell.”

“No need for that now,” Penelope beamed at him. She unlocked the door and let him in. “Chloe, honey, I'm back! And I have a lot to tell you! Oh, and you have a visitor.”

But there was no answer. Penelope walked to the kitchen and found Chloe's message. “OH MY! It looks like she's gone on a trip with Lucifer.”

“What?” Robin yelled.

“Oh, I'm so sorry, looks like she has chosen the other guy. But don't be sad, I'm sure there is a pretty lady somewhere waiting just for you!”

Robin noticed the open window and paled. How could have he been such an idiot? “I have to go,” he excused himself and hurried out. He spread his wings as soon as he closed the door, not really bothered if someone saw him. First he headed to LUX hoping Chloe went there. When he landed though, there was no Chloe. The club was closed to public, empty but for one angel. “Amenadiel?”

The angel in question frowned. “Robin? Is that you? What are you doing here?”

“I'm looking for Chloe.”

“Chloe?”

“Yes, have you seen her?”

“No. I'm actually looking for Lucifer. Have you seen him?”

“Ahh, that's complicated. I have to go now. I-”

“Don't try to move, or you leave your head behind,” a female voice whispered to his ear while a shiny dagger pressed to his throat.

“Maze?” Robin wheezed, embarrassed how scared he sounded.

“I knew there was something off about you. I guess it's the extra pair of limbs,” she poked one of his gray wings.

“Maze,” Amenadiel warned.

“What? He obviously knows something, so let's hear it,” Maze spat and pushed her dagger a little harder.

“I don't know anything, I swear,” Robin pleaded.

“Why are you looking for the detective?” Maze demanded.

“Because she is missing?” Robin offered.

Maze pressed her dagger even more, drawing blood.

“OK, OK. I was appointed to protect her and she's disappeared. She may have gone after Lucifer.”

Maze snorted. “Protect her? Why?”

“Hey, I've just been doing what I was told, OK?”

“Don't make me press this even more, little boy.”

Robin gulped. “You know I can't tell you anything if I'm dead?”

Maze laughed and pulled out her other dagger, pushing it to Robin's man parts.

“You wouldn't...” Robin whined.

“Why not? If it makes you sing... in soprano... And besides it's not like you use it anyway, hm?”

“Amenadiel?” Robin pleaded.

“Just tell us,” Amenadiel said. “Do you know where Lucifer is?”

“No.”

“Is there someone who might know?”

Robin hesitated. But Maze's knife made him talk. “Maybe the archangels.”

“Call them,” Maze ordered him.

“Fine,” Robin agreed. His next stop would have been Heaven anyway so he could inform his brothers about his failure.

“Wait!” Amenadiel yelled, but he was too late. Robin had already summoned Michael. And it took him about five seconds to get there.

There was a scream and Maze flew across the room like a rag doll. Michael was on her in a sec.

“NO!” Amenadiel yelled and landed in front of his brother, stopping him from impaling Maze with his sword.

“Amenadiel? What is the meaning of this?” Michael asked.

“She is a friend,” Amenadiel indicated Maze who was trying to get up.

“Is she?” Michael asked with a suspicious frown, regarding his brother carefully. He sniffed then and took a step away from him in disgust. “I guess she is more than a friend to you.”

Amenadiel swallowed hard, but stood still.

“You have fallen hard, brother. First retrieving a soul from Hell without an authorization, making people die, and now this? Sleeping with a demon? You better stay clear of Heaven or you will find a bitter end.”

Amenadiel clenched his fists, but didn't comment.

“Why have you summoned me?” Michael turned to Robin.

“It's Chloe. She... has disappeared.”

“She's been taken?”

“No, I think she... she's just left. Probably going after Lucifer.”

“She's left? And you didn't follow?”

Robin shifted on his feet feeling very uncomfortable under Michael's sharp gaze. “She tricked me. In a very cunning way.”

Michael snorted. “That's what I get giving a man's work to a boy.”

Maze finally put herself up. “Why would Lucifer disappear?”

“That's none of your business, demon.”

“Has the crazy bitch taken him?”

“I said it's none of your business.”

“Or was it Kerberos?”

“Kerberos?” Michael repeated, not comprehending.

“Someone let him out of his chain in Hell. And since it was Lucifer who put it on him, I think he'll go after him. And he can travel through the dimensions. So was it him?”

“I know nothing about the creature,” Michael snapped.

Maze didn't give up: “Or is it because of the prophet?”

Michael jumped to her quickly, gripping her neck with his hand. “What do you know about it?”

“Michael,” Amenadiel warned. “We know only what Lucifer told us. And it's next to nothing. Only that he knows who it is.”

Michael let go of Maze, fuming. “He wasn't supposed to tell anyone.”

“We're not anyone,” Amenadiel protested. “I'm his brother. And she is his right hand.”

“This is the matter of archangels alone.”

Amenadiel laughed. “You are angry that Lucifer told us. Yet you alone told him! The fallen one, who was banished from Heaven millenniums ago? Why? You have never needed him before.”

Michael was silent.

Amenadiel's eyes widened and he took two steps away. “No! The prophet, he's... he's Lucifer's?”

“What's that suppose to mean?” Maze asked.

Amenadiel shook his head, utterly disgusted. “I don't believe it. Father's prophet has Lucifer's divinity?”

“What are you talking about?” Maze demanded.

Amenadiel ignored her and looked at Robin, joining things together. “That's why the detective is immune to him. She is the mother of the prophet.”

Maze gasped. “Trixie is the prophet?”

Michael turned her way. “I should kill for this knowledge.”

“Why? Because I'm a demon? Trixie is my friend, you oaf. And if that freaking bitch took her, I will personally skin her alive,” Maze said with such a venom in her voice it made Michael reconsider her impending demise.

He thought for a while and then he said: “We think Mother has discovered the prophet's identity and Lucifer moved her somewhere safe. We're still waiting for his call. We tried to summon him but he hasn't replied yet. If you hear anything from him, you contact us immediately.”

Maze nodded as did Amenadiel.

“Let's go,” Michael said to Robin and they both disappeared.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I realize how very against the laws of physics the things in this chapter are... but that's why it's called fiction, right? :)


	12. Be Still, My Heart

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lucifer and Chloe need to find out the real father of the two boys and then... well... spend more time alone.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry, but I got carried away a little. But there'll be some action in the next chapter, I promise.

The priest went to the church in the morning, although it was neither Tuesday or Thursday. He had said he walked there every morning to pray... Like God cared where the people prayed. Like God cared people prayed... Lucifer didn't complain though since they were left alone in his house to make the necessary phone call to the first kidnapped boy's mother and to form a plan.

Chloe took out her new cell and dialed detective Johnson's number. She put her on speaker. “Detective Johnson, this is Chloe Decker.”

“Chloe?” the detective said with a surprised tone. “Where are you? I've tried to call you. And Lucifer, and Robin and nothing. All phones are dead.”

“Yes, we may have a lead on the kidnappings, but we think one of the police officers may be involved. So we're working undercover.”

Lucifer lifted an eyebrow clearly not approving of her lying.

“Oh, shit!” Johnson uttered. “How can I help?”

“We need a number of Andy's mother, miss Brooks?”

“Sure,” Johnson said and gave Chloe the number. “Any other way I can help?”

“No, it's not safe,” Chloe replied. “Just sit tight and if anybody asks, tell them that we follow a lead.”

Johnson snorted. “Fine. But, be careful. These people aren't the ones you want to mess up with.”

“Yeah, too late for that,” Chloe replied and hung up.

She then dialed the number of miss Brooks. “Miss Brooks? It's detective Decker and Lucifer Morningstar. We are investigating the kidnapping of your son.”

“Oh my God, have you found him?”

Chloe gulped. “No, no we haven't. But we may have a lead. But we need an information from you. About the boy's father.”

“Wait! You think he did it? I mean he even doesn't know about Andy. It was a... one-night stand.”

“We don't think he's responsible,” Chloe said, “but we think there may be a connection. Can you tell us his name?”

There was a silence on the other side.

“Don't worry, your secret's safe with us,” Lucifer encouraged her.

“Ehm... it's not that,” miss Brooks replied. “It's just... I don't know his name. It was just... we met one night in a bar and we just talked and then we went to my place and...”

“Created Andy,” Lucifer supplied.

“Is there anything you can tell us about him? Anything you remember?” Chloe asked.

“Well, he was tall, over six feet. Really handsome with black hair and light brown eyes. And he was really nice.”

“Was there something unusual about him?” Lucifer prompted. “Like a pair of wings perhaps?”

“Whaaat?”

Chloe hit Lucifer's arm. “Au, what was that for?”

“No, no... wings or anything... wait, there was something. His hands – they were really big. And kind of veiny... I mean it was like he had tattoos on his hands, but didn't.”

Lucifer tensed. “Veins you say. And was he by any chance missing a piece of his little finger?”

“Y... yes,” miss Brooks stammered. “I remember now... how do you know?”

Lucifer shook his head, his ire rising. “Bloody Rafael!”

“You know him?” miss Brooks yelled.

“Yes, unfortunately, he's my brother.”

“What? Does he know about Andy? Does he know he's missing?”

“Miss Brooks, thank you for the information,” Chloe stepped in quickly. “It was very helpful. We'll call you when we find out something else.”

“Wai-” miss Brooks yelled, but Chloe ended the call.

“Is it the same Rafael I shot two day ago?”

“Yes – wait, what? You shot my brother? You forgot to mention that!”

Chloe cringed. She didn't forget to mention it, she didn't mention it because she was embarrassed by her lack of control. “It was an accident. And nothing really happened to him. The bullet just bounced off him.”

“Really?” Lucifer frowned. How was it possible the other angels were bulletproof around Chloe while he wasn't? Chloe was probably thinking the same thing.

“But YOU bled, when I shot you.”

“Yes. As I said once, you make me vulnerable, detective. Quite literally.”

“Is it because of the feather your brother put in me?” Chloe asked and touched her belly unwittingly.

Lucifer shrugged. “Maybe...” _and maybe not_ , he thought to himself. He didn't notice to be vulnerable around Beatrice and she definitely had more of him inside her than Chloe. But this was a mystery for another day to solve.

Chloe took a deep breath. “What now?”

“Now I'm going to have a little chat with my brother and find out if he took a detour when he visited Earth on his mission to turn your unborn child into a prophet. And then ask him nicely if he had sex with more than one woman.” Lucifer shook his head. “The idiot probably even doesn't know he has a son.”

“But how are you going to contact him?”

“Simply, I'll just pray very hard. Given the fact they are probably looking for us quite desperately, he'll answer my call. But not here. I don't want to reveal your location in case he's being followed. Or my prayer eavesdropped.”

Chloe nodded. She supposed there were a lot she didn't know about angels. Like that they could call each other through a prayer... Also she certainly didn't like the idea Lucifer leaving them alone, but it was probably the only way to find out the whole truth.

“You're probably safe here. If Mother had known our location, she would have come already. But still, I'm going to teach you how to call me if need be. I can be back in a minute.”

Lucifer took Chloe's hands and put them almost together, not quite touching. “Now all you have to do is press your palms together and concentrate and say my name in your mind. The old name – Samael.”

Chloe shook her head. “I don't think I can think about you as Samael.”

“Oh, come on. Even Beatrice can do that.”

Chloe snorted. “Why did you change that name?”

“Because I didn't like it. Do you know, what does it mean, detective? It means 'Venom of God'. Father gave it to me.”

Chloe jerked. “Why did He give you such a horrible name?”

“Because of the archangels' purpose. We were to instil fear in Father's enemies, fight in battles for Him and clear the universe from creatures He didn't want there.”

“So you changed it to 'Lucifer'.”

“No, I didn't. The humans did. After I put the stars in the sky.”

Chloe blinked. “The light-bearer.”

Lucifer smirked. “Someone did a little studying.”

“You know what they say – know your enemy,” Chloe grinned.

Lucifer laughed. “Funny, detective.”

“Let me try.”

“Don't!” Lucifer swiftly pulled her hands apart. “Somebody can be already wired on my line, so to speak. So don't call unless it's necessary.”

Chloe nodded. “OK. Just take my phone. You can call the priest's phone if something's up.”

Lucifer pocketed the phone and spread his wings. He reached one of his smaller feathers and pulled it out with a hiss. He handed it to Chloe.

Chloe's eyes widened. “What...?” She took the feather carefully, afraid what it might do to her.

“Don't worry, detective, it's not radioactive.”

“Why...?”

Lucifer shrugged. “It can come handy. It's quite powerful. It can heal you if need be, or it can kill a demon – well, your gun can do that too, but it's harder to kill a demon with bullets. Oh, and it shines, you can use it as a torch,” Lucifer joked.

Chloe nodded. “Thank you. And Lucifer, be careful.”

“Don't worry, detective. I'll be back in... well... it depends on Rafael, really. But if I am not back in let's say three hours, you pack Beatrice and move somewhere else.”

Chloe nodded reluctantly, she really hoped it wouldn't come to that. And Lucifer disappeared. She eyed the feather for a few more seconds, mesmerized by its power. She thought where to put it and decided her bra was the right place. No risk of falling out of it or pulling it out by accidentally. It tickled a little and felt quite sinful, but felt safe.

 

Lucifer landed in the middle of the desert he passed with Trixie two days ago. It was hot, the air uncomfortably dry. He called Rafael and waited. He hoped Rafael would answer his call without delay and without his brothers.

He'd been waiting for about twenty minutes when the air around him moved and his brother appeared. Not alone, unfortunately, but at least he has only Gabriel with him. No Michael.

“Lucifer,” Rafael greeted cautiously, looking around suspiciously. “Why did you call me? I mean just me?”

“Why haven't you come alone?”

“Well, after your mysterious disappearing and not answering our summons... let's say I'm just being cautious,” Rafael replied. “You can be grateful I didn't tell Michael.”

Lucifer nodded. “We need to talk, dear brother.”

“Yes, you better explain why you haven't answered any of ours calls,” Gabriel stepped in. “Michael thinks you may have kidnapped the prophet to use her as a leverage on Father.”

Lucifer snorted. “Of course he does.”

“And where is she, anyway?” Gabriel added.

“Some place safe.”

Gabriel lifted his eyebrows. “You don't trust us?”

Lucifer hesitated, but then said. “There's a traitor among the angels.”

Gabriel and Rafael looked at each other. “This is a severe accusation,” Gabriel said. “Are you sure about it?”

“Yes. And I believe I let him trick me into revealing the prophet's identity. He said she was in danger, that Mother was coming for her, and in my haste to save her, I lead him to the school, where half the Hell broke loose.”

“So you know who it is?” Rafael asked.

“We have a candidate for the position.”

“We?” Rafael repeated.

“I believe he refers to Chloe Decker,” Gabriel supplied. “Michael said she had run away from Robin. I'm not really surprised.”

“So who is it?” Rafael demanded.

“I'll tell you, but first you and I need to talk. Alone.”

Rafael frowned. “Why? We don't have any secrets among ourselves.”

“Trust me, Rafael, you may want this to be your secret.”

Rafael and Gabriel looked at each other again. Gabriel shrugged and spread his black wings. “I'll be in Heaven if you need me,” he informed them and flew away.

“So what's the secret?”

“Tell me, Rafael, the night you turned unborn Beatrice Decker into a prophet, you weren't really drunk, were you? You were high!”

Rafael paled. “W... what do you know?” he stammered.

“Oh, I know plenty. Let's see... you sneaked to the Forbidden tree and had a sweet little apple before you left.”

Rafael gulped, closing his eyes for a brief moment.

“Then you went on the mission. But first, or maybe after, you visited a bar, found a nice drunk lonely girl, went home with her and had – let's hope – a brain blowing sex.” Lucifer paused for a moment, while Rafael ran his hands through his hair. “How am I doing so far?”

Rafael shook his head. “How can you even know that? Nobody knows about it. Not even Father!”

“And because one female wasn't enough, you went and found another. And guess what – you had sex with her too!”

“Oh, sweet Jesus, how do you know that?!” Rafael screamed and started to pace around agitatedly.

“Because, you moron, you fathered two boys that night!”

“What?!” Rafael paled even more.

“You didn't know about them?”

Rafael shook his head. “God, no. I... I didn't mean to... I... shit!”

“Exactly so,” Lucifer confirmed.

Rafael sat on the ground and put his head in his palms. “Father's gonna kick me out of Heaven.”

Lucifer snorted. “Yes, but don't worry, there's a very nice weather in Hell this time of year.”

“But how did you find them?”

“I didn't, Mother did,” Lucifer replied.

“What?”

“On her quest after the prophet she simply followed the energy signatures of anything divine she detected. And the boys came to her path. Anyway, one of them, Patrick, is already dead. She killed him, or maybe Zadkiel did...”

“Zadkiel?!”

“... to get close to me and find out the prophet's identity. He claimed Patrick was his son. So you see, I needed your confirmation that you were his father, not Zadkiel. And I believe, I have it now. So I'll just return to Chloe and Beatrice and you and the other archangels get Zadkiel before he vanishes.” Lucifer handed Rafael a piece of paper with the name of the town they were hiding. “You will find us there. Come when it's all taken care of. And mind to save me some time with Zadkiel. About ten hours would suffice.”

Rafael took the paper and stared at it with empty eyes. “What am I to say to Michael and Gabriel?”

“It's up to you. I don't care, brother. It's your secret, not mine. I won't reveal it.”

“Wait! What about the other boy?”

“Andy? We don't know. Mother still has him, or she killed him too.”

Rafael pocketed the paper and got to his feet. “I'll talk to Michael and Gabriel. I'll think of something. We'll get Zadkiel and then we'll come for you.”

Lucifer nodded, spread his wings and headed back to Stony Hill. He flew through the 'passage' dimension and landed in a forest near the priest's house, making sure nobody had seen him. He walked the short path to the house and found Chloe and Beatrice on the porch swinging gently on the swing. He told them, what he had discovered.

“What now?” Chloe asked.

Lucifer shrugged. “Now we wait. The ball is on the archangels' court.”

 

Lucifer returned to the diner before noon, taking Chloe and Trixie with him. Dora had said yesterday that he was always welcomed there, be it as a customer or a chef. And given the fact he didn't have any money and Chloe was almost without money herself, he decided to accept the offer of cooking there for at least another day.

“Maybe I can teach you something, detective,” Lucifer teased.

“Who's this?” Dora asked with interest when she met Chloe.

“She's my friend. Chloe.” Lucifer clarified.

“Friend, you say?” Dora asked and blinked at him. She put Chloe to work as a waitress. “It's Friday, honey, soon the tourists will come,” she explained.

“Tourists?” Lucifer repeated with a smile. He couldn't imagine, what would tourists do here, in the middle of nowhere.

“Oh, yes,” Dora replied. “They come to visit the lake. There's a track around it. Most of them walk the track, some of them ride bikes. There are lovely views around. You didn't think I live off the local folks, did you? I mean did you see it around here?”

Lucifer chuckled.

“I can always use an extra help during the weekends. Is that right, Rose?”

The young waitress with too much make-up on her face nodded reluctantly and glared at Chloe with venom in her eyes. She tossed her an apron and said with a smirk: “You better rest while you can. The whole day work can get pretty hard on older people.”

Chloe snorted but didn't comment. She took the apron and put it on.

“You take orders, I'll bring the meals and payments,” Rose informed her.

Chloe did a quick math – right, bring the meals so she could walk to the kitchen. Why was that...?

She also got a quickly handmade name tag, as did Lucifer. Although his read 'Sammy'. She was surprised Lucifer didn't protest and just pinned it on...

With the late afternoon the tourists came. And they ordered. And they ate and they were all more than satisfied. One of the costumers said to Chloe that he had a restaurant in Denver and that he would BUY the chef. Chloe laughed thinking he was joking, but the guy was apparently very serious. “Sorry, he's not for sale,” she said. “I bought him only two weeks ago and the guarantee period is still running.” That shut the guy up...

Rose was right about one thing – it was a hard job and Chloe's feet started to hurt. It didn't help that Rose spent most of the time in the kitchen, 'assisting the chef'.

Besides the tourists, locals came as well. Mostly to get dinner. The sheriff, Angelina Anvil, paid her visit too. She was a stout woman in her forties with blond hair streaked with silver. She looked more like a man than a woman.

“So you're the stray doves, are you,” she asked Lucifer eying his very expensive clothes. “Do you have some ID?”

Lucifer smiled. “Of course I do, sheriff, but I seem to have lost it on my way here.”

The sheriff frowned and probably wanted to take action, but Chloe had heard their exchange and came to help. She pulled out her badge discreetly, taking the sheriff outside to explain everything. She couldn't tell her the truth, of course, so she told the sheriff a pretty story about Trixie being in danger of kidnapping and her and her partner working undercover, protecting her until the kidnappers were found. She couldn't tell, if the sheriff believed her, but she seemed to be placated for now. And after she ate Lucifer's steak she fell madly in love with him, proclaiming Sammy to be the best cook she had ever met. Anyway... Chloe really hoped it wouldn't take the archangels long to get Zadkiel.

When the diner finally closed, Chloe was basically asleep on her feet, Trixie was asleep on her butt on a chair, her head laid on a table. She had learned to make an omelet and a tea today. Chloe supposed she should be grateful. This was a skill needed in every part of the world and in every time as well.

Only Lucifer seemed to have as much energy as he had had in the morning. Well, and Rose didn't look very sleepy. But Chloe had done most of the job, so...

“What are your plans for tonight?” Chloe heard Rose ask the most admired chef. She cocked her ears to hear the answer. It was the third night here for Lucifer. She couldn't imagine how he was still alive with no sex for so long.

“Well, carry the child home – or to the priest's house to be more precise, and then I see...”

Chloe took a step to the side to see to the kitchen. Rose was curling a strand of her hair around her finger, her other hand propped on her hip. “Chloe can take her home,” she suggested. “She should get some rest, anyway. She looks pretty worn out, don't you think?”

Lucifer didn't answer. Chloe gripped the bar tightly. She so wanted to comment, but she stopped herself. It wasn't her business what Lucifer did during the night.

“There's a bar not far from here,” Rose continued. “The Wild Pony. I'm meeting with a friend there. You could join us. Have some fun.”

Chloe rolled her eyes. Meet with a friend who would unfortunately call off at the last moment, she bet. And The Wild Pony? Really? Who would name a bar like that?

“Sorry, love. I'd love to, but I've been told to behave like an adult. So I'm working on it.”

Chloe shook her head. Leave it to Lucifer to make up an excellent excuse.

“Can we go?” Chloe finally stepped in the kitchen, giving Rose a self satisfied smile. OK – now she was behaving like a teenager...

“Right,” Lucifer replied smirking at her, probably seeing right through her. He picked up Trixie, who kept sleeping happily and they started to walk to the priest's house.

“You know, if we are going to be here for another month, we should probably find another place to stay,” Chloe suggested. “And find another job too.”

Lucifer smiled. “Why, detective? Don't tell me Rose had it right and you are worn out?”

Chloe groaned.

“Or perhaps it's Rose you don't approve of?”

“Oh, come on. That girl is so no right for Trixie.”

Lucifer laughed. “You mean she's not right for me?”

“No, I meant for Trixie. And don't even start. I'm not having this conversation with you again.”

“Whatever do you mean, detective? Maybe something involving jealousy?”

“Absolutely not.”

“You know all you have to do is say 'yes, Lucifer' and I'll show you the divine part of me.”

Chloe snorted. “I think I have seen all your divine parts already.”

“Not in action,” Lucifer goaded.

Chloe shook her head. “Right. And then what?”

“What do you mean?”

“Exactly,” Chloe replied leaving Lucifer even more confused. The man was never thinking about the future more distant than one day...

 

They put Trixie to bed and sat on the swing. There were clouds in the sky tonight, no stars visible. But at least it was a little warmer than yesterday.

“I really love being a detective,” Chloe said, feeling a relief in her legs as soon as she had sat. “I mean I couldn't do this job for a living. Do you think it will take your brothers long to capture Zadkiel?”

“I think not. But then maybe they will try to catch Mother as well.”

Chloe hesitated. She had a question she wanted to asked but feared she would anger Lucifer. But she decided to ask anyway. It was his choice whether he would answer or not. “Lucifer, what happened with your Mother?”

Lucifer took a deep breath. “Jealousy. After Father had created humans, he gave all of his attention to them, neglecting His own family. Most of us didn't mind. We liked humans. But there were some who did mind. And Mother was one of them. She grew spiteful and vengeful and went as far as sending disasters on them – you know, plagues, earthquakes, floods – so I've been told. I was already residing in Hell at the time. She tried to wipe you out over and over again. Father had to put a stop to it. About two thousand years ago He captured her and had her locked in Hell. The end of story.”

“Wow, sounds almost like an average marriage problems,” Chloe said. “Wait a minute. How could your Mother have been in Hell for two thousand years, when Robin is only about six hundred years old? Don't tell me your Dad visited her there.”

Lucifer snorted. “No, I heard He found Himself a new bride.”

“He can do that?”

“Well, sure. He's God, not a Catholic Church follower!”

Chloe shook her head. She took off her right shoe and started massaging her sore toes. There was one more question she desperately wanted to ask. But this one was going to make Lucifer angry for sure. But her need to know the answer was stronger than the fear Lucifer would be angry with her. “Lucifer? Why exactly were you cast out of Heaven?”

Lucifer sat silently, observing Chloe's ministration. And then he said: “You're doing it wrong, detective.”

“What?” Ah... well so he chose not to answer at all...

“Let me.”

Chloe didn't have time to protest. Lucifer knelt in front of her, taking her foot in his hands. She tried to pulled it away, but he grabbed her ankle pulling off her sock. “First of all, you need to do that barefoot. And second...” He massaged the sole of her foot carefully, drawing small circles from her heel to her toes.

Chloe groaned, resting her head on the top of the backrest of the swing. “Oh, God.”

“You really have stop saying that, detective. He has nothing to do with this.”

Chloe smiled. “Sorry. Let me try again. Oh, Devil.”

Lucifer chuckled. “Much better.”

“So... is this suppose to make me forget my question?”

“Well, yes. Is it working?”

“Almost.”

Lucifer sighed.

“You don't have to tell me if you don't want to,” Chloe whispered, yet there was a plea in her tone defying her own words.

Lucifer laid her foot in his lap and took the other one. He pulled off the shoe and the sock and started to pay attention to her other sole. “Well, I guess since you know almost everything, you can as well know the rest of it.”

Chloe straighten up a little, her attention on Lucifer's words.

“When Father created humans, He made them... unaware of their own... existence.”

“You mean like animals?”

“Sort of. But not exactly. He said you needed time to realize yourselves, to evolve, I guess. But the millenniums passed and you weren't exactly evolving. The only thing besides few words you managed was to learn how to use fire. And that was because I had got tired of watching you eat raw meat. It was so disgusting! I asked Father to help you, to push you a little, but he insisted you had to walk the way on your own. Well, I disagreed. I mean there was so much potential inside you and He let you live like bloody animals! I just... I wanted you to enjoy the living. Like I did. To live, not just survive. To be free to make your own choices. So one afternoon I walked to the forbidden tree and plucked a red apple from it. I took it down on Earth and found a nice young lady.”

“Eve,” Chloe supplied.

“That was the name she gave herself afterward. When I chose her, she was just a nameless girl without a clue. I offered her the apple. I wasn't exactly sure what it would do to her – I mean the apples can unlock hidden potentials in angels, but nobody knew if it could do the same with humans. You know I thought it might make her realize her existence and she could teach the others then. But as it turned up the apple was too strong. It released the potential in the girl, yes, but not only in her. It released the potential in all the humans alive. And not only the good potential. The bad as well. They realized their existence, their wants and needs and their shortcomings. They started to crave things like power and security and love. And it all went to hell.” Lucifer snorted a little with the memory.

“What happened next?”

“A disaster you could say. The humans started to make groups. And the groups started to fight each other, hate each other and kill each other. Father gave them rules to obey to help them navigate through their lives, but many of them just ignored them. And therefore He established one of the dimensions that had been used as a prison for dangerous creatures as an unresting place for souls of sinners. A place for punishing those who made the most horrible transgressions against the others in their lives. And because it was my fault humans had decided to kill each other I was made to rule the place. Take care of the souls sent there, meaning torture them, of course.”

Chloe gulped. Lucifer rose his eyes to hers, a shadow of regret lurking there. He was about to say something he had never said before, knowing as long sa it wasn't said aloud, he could pretend it wasn't true... “I guess... I AM in a way responsible for all the human's sins,” he admitted with bitter sadness in his voice, awaiting Chloe's judgment.

“Maybe,” Chloe wet her lips. “But if that's so, then you are responsible for other things too.”

Lucifer froze.

“There's lot of evil in the world, but there's also lot of good. And one cannot really exist without the other. I mean without pain there would be no compassion, without sins there would be no attempts to do good, without hate there would be no love, without passion there would be no art and without doubts there would be no science and without... I mean if I had a choice I would rather choose all this – good and evil – than an everlasting oblivion.”

Chloe could swear Lucifer's eyes lit for a split of a second. His grip on her feet tighten almost painfully. “You would do that, wouldn't you?” he asked with wonder. He took one of her feet then and brought it to his lips. He kissed it gently, sending a wave of electricity with a wave of panic through her body.

“What are you doing?!” Chloe yelped.

“Massaging your foot.”

“But this is not...” Chloe thought hastily how to end the sentence, “... appropriate?”

Lucifer chuckled. “But it's the better part, detective. Just relax and enjoy it. I swear I won't do anything you wouldn't like.”

Chloe gulped. He was making fun of her. Surely... And how exactly was she supposed to relax when he was licking her sole creating a tickling sensation next to the prickling one where his bristle were brushing against her?

Chloe gripped the swing tightly, her knuckles turning white and tilted her head back, closing her eyes. This was heaven...

Lucifer felt ecstatic. If the little noises Chloe was making were any indication of her state, there was going to be a huge win soon. He realized it was probably a very bad idea to do this, but he just couldn't stop himself. And the truth be told, he didn't care... He was making Chloe happy, at least for now, and it was all he cared about. She deserved that. She had made him happy too after all. With all her compassion and logic most people wouldn't agree with... He just had to keep a tight leash on himself and not to loose control again.

He turned his attention to her other foot, making Chloe groan. He smiled between his kisses and moved his hand higher Chloe's leg. He massaged her calf and caressed her knee. He shifted a little, pulling her legs apart and moving himself closer to her. Chloe noticed too late his action. He was too close now, only inches from her.

“Lucifer...” she breathed, not knowing what she wanted to say.

“Yes, darling?”

“I don't think...”

“Good. Thinking is overrated.” He put his hands on her waist and pulled her even closer to him. Chloe gasped, locking her legs behind his back and her arms around his neck. But she really didn't have a choice, did she? It was either this or falling down. And she didn't want to fall. Not alone at least.

Lucifer brought his lips to her neck, biting her gently. His hands traveled slowly up her back and then front, encircling her ribcage and brushing her breasts.

Chloe growled, slipping her fingers into his hair. She ground her pelvis to his, hitting her core to his buckle... or was it? She growled again with the contact.

“Lucifer,” she groaned sounding desperate and pulling his hair trying to navigate him to her lips.

“Oh, detective, you are a terrible hair puller...”

“Shut up!”

“Gladly,” Lucifer purred and brought his mouth to hers shutting them both quite effectively.

Chloe was falling. Her hips moved on its own volition, as did her hands and her tongue. Lucifer was right – thinking was overrated. She was falling and she loved that beyond anything. And when it seemed she would hit the ground, she flew up right to the stars, gulping for air and shivering with pleasure.

“Bloody hell,” Lucifer swore quietly, not really expecting the earthquake to happen this easily. “Don't worry, darling, I have you,” he whispered to Chloe's ear while the tremors rocked her body.

The waves of pleasure finally passed and Chloe laid her head on Lucifer's shoulder, breathing deeply.

Lucifer still held her tightly, his lips next to her ear. There was a self-satisfied smile in his voice he didn't even try to conceal: “Well, well, detective, I always knew you were full of passion.”

Chloe groaned. Now she added several points to his monstrous ego... “I hate you,” she mumbled.

Lucifer chuckled. “Oh, I don't think you hate me, detective. I think you actually l-” Lucifer paused feeling Chloe tense. He coughed a little. “... like me working with you,” he joked. But Chloe didn't laugh and she didn't snort nor comment. She did nothing. Well, she did something – she closed her eyes and wished he had finished the sentence the way he had obviously intended. And then she would say something like 'well, you too' and everything would be good and pink and perfect. Except it wouldn't... this was life, not a fairy tale.

A thunder rumbled above them, making them jump. And in a few seconds heavy rain started beating on the roof. The air cooled down swiftly around them.

“Bloody hell,” Lucifer groaned and untangled himself from Chloe. He had been hoping they would have another round or two, making it a double win – God knew he needed one. But after the idiotic thing he had almost blurted out, there was no chance to win again. So he helped Chloe to put on her socks and shoes and they moved inside, not looking at each other, not touching each other and not talking to each other except for a halfhearted 'good night'.

Despite her tiredness it took Chloe long to fall asleep. She tossed and turned. All the parts of her body tingled and called for attention. She felt so alive. And so lost. What would she do tomorrow when she saw Lucifer? What would HE do? Make jokes about tonight? Or take it too seriously? Or pretend it didn't happen? Chloe couldn't decide which would be worse.

Lucifer heard Chloe move in the other room. He smiled to himself. She was probably just warm enough for another round. He considered going to her. Maybe she had already forgotten about the 'L' word. He hadn't even said it after all. And it wasn't like he wanted a declaration of love from her... no need to get nervous then (oh, he knew how seriously humans took this love thing).

He got off the couch and took two steps in her direction, but then he stopped. There was Trixie in the room as well. And he was almost sure it wasn't OK to have sex when a child was present. Even though the child was sleeping.

So he laid back on the couch and closed his eyes. A pleasant feeling engulfed him when he remembered Chloe telling him she preferred his version of human existence over his Father's. He didn't know how it was possible but the woman didn't cease to amaze him. And she also had this incredible ability to make him happy. Like tonight when she had squirmed so prettily in his arms. Ah... he had simply known it would be wonderful to have sex with her. Except they hadn't had sex... not really. They had just... made out? Lucifer snorted. How was it even possible that this 'making out' with the detective felt so much better and so more intense than three rounds with three top models? Lucifer suspected it had something to do with the love thing. Linda probably had it right after all.

But maybe he was getting better already? Given the fact he hadn't lost control? Maybe there was still hope for him then that he would cure himself of this love malady... but the thing was he wasn't sure he wanted to that anymore. He liked the feelings Chloe awoke and he liked being with her.

He put his palm to his heart. It was beating rapidly, like it was trying to win a marathon. Lucifer suddenly understood why there were so many heart attacks among the human population. Love was a really dangerous thing.


	13. An Angel Walks into a Diner

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lucifer's holiday is over. It's time to get back to Devil's work...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the delay, but it was time for me to figure out the ending of this story :)  
> This chapter is pretty long (sorry about that). But there's some action in it, so it shouldn't be tedious... (oh, and it's little crazy too).  
> Anyway thank you for all the cudos and comments. I hope you'll enjoy reading this at least as much as I enjoyed writing it.

“Good morning, detective,” Lucifer drawled, “I believe you had a pleasant night?” He watched Chloe turn crimson with a satisfied smirk on his face.

_Right, joking it was then_ , Chloe thought bitterly.

The priest and Trixie were already eating their breakfast Lucifer had made for them. Chloe was last to get up.

“It was passable,” Chloe said, walking to an empty chair, avoiding Lucifer's eyes.

Lucifer chuckled. “Let's hope the next one will be better then.”

Chloe almost missed her chair. Next one? There was going to be a next one? She wasn't quite over the last one – her body still tingling pleasantly.

The priest raised his head and frowned slightly. He was smart enough to catch the hidden meaning behind Lucifer's words.

 

The priest went to his church again, while the rest of them drove to the diner, taking Chloe's car. Chloe simply refused to walk there knowing she would have to walk back as well, on hurting legs.

Lucifer was still in a superb mood. “You know, detective, if I weren't the owner of LUX, I would love to be a chef. There is something sinful about cooking delicious meals, don't you think?”

Chloe rolled her eyes. She parked the car on a parking lot behind the diner and they walked in. Lucifer beamed at everyone. “Good morning! Oh, Dora, you look quite ravishing today. New haircut?”

Dora giggled and actually slapped Lucifer on his ass. Chloe shivered when she saw that... There was something unsettling about a seventy years old giggling and slapping a man's butt.

“Oh,” Lucifer yelped but didn't stop smiling. “Oh, sheriff, you're here too?”

“After yesterday's steak? Dora told me something about your eggs...”

Lucifer chuckled. “Oh, yes, my eggs are known to be quite tasty.”

Chloe grimaced while the sheriff boomed with laughter.

The only one who was frowning was the young waitress, Rose. Chloe couldn't bring herself to care though.

“What's wrong, love?” Lucifer asked her.

“I'm still a virgin!” she pouted.

“Oh,” Lucifer waved his hand. “Don't worry, it'll pass. Have you asked Steve to help you with that problem?” he indicated the cook leaning in the doorway to the kitchen. The man turned crimson, stammering something about cleaning glasses and disappeared in the kitchen. Rose just glared at Lucifer with hatred.

“Oh, bloody hell!” Lucifer yelled the moment he stepped into the kitchen. He reappeared again in a moment, a slightly wilted carrot in his hand. “You call this vegetable?”

Dora frowned. “What's wrong with it? It seems good to me.”

“What's wrong...” Lucifer repeated in disbelief and bent the carrot thus its ends almost touched without breaking. “This is good, yes, if you want to feed pigs!”

“You didn't complain, yesterday,” Dora pointed out.

“Yes, but yesterday I wasn't supposed to make a carrot pie!”

“It will be OK, nobody would know the difference!”

Lucifer stood dumbstruck, clearly deeply offended. He put his hand over his heart in a dramatic way. “Dora, honey, everyone would know the difference. If you want me to make a carrot pie, I'll need something resembling carrots, not this.”

“They don't have better carrots in the store,” Dora objected.

“Then go to another one.”

“Another one is in the next town,” Dora said.

“You know what, I'll go,” Chloe proposed, seeing Lucifer's temper rising.

“But...” Lucifer tried to protest.

“What?” Chloe challenged him. “Do you want fresh carrots or not?”

Lucifer clenched his teeth. Oh, he did want fresh carrots but he didn't want Chloe out of his sight.

“I'll be fine,” Chloe said. “I can always call you if need be.”

Lucifer nodded reluctantly and returned to the kitchen. He changed his mind though and hurried after Chloe who was just unlocking the excuse for a car. “Detective!”

Chloe turned and narrowed her eyes. “What?”

Lucifer put the wilted carrot in her hand. “Just take this with you to know what not to buy. And if you have doubts about the merchandise, just give it a squeeze. A healthy carrot should be as hard as-”

“Don't,” Chloe yelled and put her palm over Lucifer's mouth, “finish that sentence!”

Lucifer's mouth stretched to a smile under her hand. He gently removed it from his mouth. “You know, detective, there are other, more pleasurable ways how to stop me talking,” he purred and wiggled his eyebrows. He leaned closer, his intention clear, but Chloe stopped him, her hand pushing slightly at his chest.

“We shouldn't,” she whispered.

“Why ever not?” Lucifer asked, perplexed. He was sure she had enjoyed their last night encounter...

_Because it will hurt like hell when you leave me_ , Chloe thought, but aloud she said: “There are people here. I don't want them to see us...”

Lucifer snorted. “Ashamed of me, are you?”

“NO!” Chloe protested. “It's not that, it's...” she bit her lip, thinking.

“Right,” Lucifer breathed and opened the car door for her. “You better go, I should start baking as soon as possible to have the pie finished in the afternoon.”

Chloe heaved a sigh and nodded. Why everything had to be this hard with Lucifer?

Lucifer watched her go till she disappeared from his sight. This love thing was bothersome. One moment he was happy, ecstatic, the next he wanted to hit something. Or cry like a baby. Oh, he really didn't like it right now! And why was the detective denying herself pleasure? Was it because who he was? Or what he was? Was she afraid it was wrong having sex with the Devil? She was the one taking the right and wrong thing quite seriously after all. Lucifer was quite baffled by her – well, nothing new then. He returned to the kitchen to make the eggs for the sheriff.

 

The tourists slowly started to come, although it wasn't even midday. They probably wanted to eat before they headed out on the track around the lake.

The priest came as well, returning from his visit to the church on the hill. He sat on the bar stool and ordered a coffee and proceeded to have a talk with Rose about her obsession with her virginity. The detective hadn't returned yet, but Lucifer thought she should be back in several minutes.

And then all went to hell...

The door of the diner opened and in stepped a man who clearly wasn't local. In a black leather trousers, and a black long-sleeved t-shirt covered with silver chain mail and a light armor, and with a sword attached to his back, the blond man attracted a lot of attention. Most of the customers stopped eating or drinking and just stared at him. Rose even started to drool, forgetting the reverend's lessons about sexual moderation in a sec.

“Sir,” the sheriff said, eying the newcomer and his attire, especially his sword. “Can I help you?”

“Hardly,” Michael replied. “I'm here for my brother.”

One of the tourists got up and walked to Michael, a camera in his hand. “Would you mind if I take a picture of you?”

Michael frowned, looking down at the man (he was a full head shorter) and his device. “Yes, I would. In fact if you do that, I'll put my sword right through your heart.”

The tourist paled and quickly returned to his seat.

“Don't worry, he can't really do that.” Lucifer walked out of the kitchen, hearing his brother's voice. He stopped short in front of Michael.

“Am I missing something or are we going to war?”

“We already are in a war. And yes, you're missing it,” Michael snapped.

“You know him, Sammy?” the sheriff said.

“Sammy?” Michael repeated icily, noticing Lucifer's name tag.

“Unfortunately,” Lucifer ignored his brother and talked to the sheriff, “he's my brother.”

Michael clenched his fists. “It astounds me, that you can still find new ways how to ridicule Father.”

“What?” Lucifer asked, all innocence. “You're the one who has always insisted I use my God given name!”

“Not as a mockery.”

“It's a short version. Anyway I suppose you're here to inform me you have caught the misguided sheep and the escapee so I can return to my pleasant life of constant debauchery?”

“No,” Michael shook his head. “We haven't found Zadkiel.”

“What?”

“Nobody has seen him for three days now. We swept Heaven and Hell and didn't find him.”

“Then maybe you need a bigger broom!”

The people in the diner were watching the peculiar exchange with interest, some of them taking pictures despite Michael's threat.

Michael rolled his eyes. “We assume he must be somewhere on Earth.”

“Ah... you assume! Guess all brothers are searching the Earth now?”

“No, we managed to keep it a secret for now.”

Lucifer scowled. “There's a traitor on the run and you're worried about Father's PR?”

“What's PR?”

“Public relations!”

Michael sighed. “No, we have a plan how to capture Zadkiel. But it's imperative we keep his treachery a secret for now. We will put the plan into motion after we will have relocated the child to a safer place.”

“Oh, really?”

“Yes. Where is she?”

Trixie walked out of the kitchen at the time. She walked to Lucifer eying Michael speculatively. Michael smiled at her, making her gulp soundly.

“Please, don't do that,” Lucifer told him, well aware Michael's smile looked more like a sneer of a ferocious cat preparing for an attack. He pulled Trixie nearer to him. “Biter, this is my brother, Michael. You don't have to be afraid of him. He's quite harmless,” Lucifer explained and chuckled.

Trixie took Lucifer's hand and looked up at him. “I don't like him,” she whispered.

Lucifer snickered. “That makes two of us.”

The door to the diner opened again and a well known voice yelled: “Hi, Lucifer!”

Lucifer jumped and looked at the grinning man. Of course it was bloody Mr. Proper...

“What's he doing here?” Lucifer cried.

Michael shrugged. “Father insisted.”

“Bloody hell! I make one deal with Father in millenniums and this is what I get?”

“What?” Robin asked with wide eyes. “You're not glad to see me, brother?” he stressed the last word, making Lucifer fume.

“Half brother,” Lucifer pointed out.

“Yes, you're right. I don't have a vengeful crazy bitch for a mother.”

Lucifer glared at him, his eyes turning crimson for a split of a second. Luckily, he was standing with his back to the humans, and no-one saw.

“OK, I don't want to fight,” Robin stated, lifting his hands in the air. “I'm here to help.”

“Oh, really?” Lucifer mocked. “With what? Losing things?”

“That's enough!” Michael boomed. “We're leaving, now!”

The sheriff stood from her table and moved closer to Michael, her hand on her pistol. “Is that man bothering you, Sammy?”

Lucifer grinned. “Since the beginning of time.”

The sheriff frowned. “Sir, you need to get out of here,” she said to Michael.

“That's what I'm trying to do. Take your things, Samael, we're leaving.”

“NO,” Lucifer replied.

Michael frowned. “What do you mean 'no'”?

“I mean, Chloe's left to buy carrots and I have brownies in the oven, and steaks in the pan.”

Michael blinked. Why was he still even trying to understand his brother? “You cannot leave, because you are cooking meals for the mortals?”

“That's right,” Lucifer confirmed and started to walk back to the kitchen, Trixie on his heal.

Michael started to follow, but the sheriff stepped in front of him. “Sir, I'm warning you for the last time. Step out of the diner or you'll spend the night in jail.”

Michael wanted to answer, but a shriek from outside stopped him. And then there was another shriek and a yell and a crush. Lucifer stopped in his tracks and turned his attention with the others to the windows. There was nothing to see, but apparently something was going on.

A man ran in the diner, his face pale. “A monster! There's a monster!” he yelled, pointing behind his back.

“Is it slim, about six feet tall, with black hair, blue eyes, stunningly beautiful, and wearing a dress?” Lucifer asked.

The man managed to focus on him, then on Michael, looking perplexed for a few seconds. Then he remembered the monster: “No. It's about fifteen feet tall, ugly beyond a nightmare, wearing absolutely nothing and it has three heads!”

The people looked at the man like he had lost his brain. But something was happening outside, because people were running around, shrieking.

“Not Mother then,” Lucifer breathed. “Actually, it almost sounds like... but no, it can't be...” Lucifer shook his head.

The sheriff was the first to step outside and the moment she did, she froze. All the occupants of the diner followed her.

“Sweet Mother Mary,” the priest breathed and crossed himself.

“That's not her, padre,” Lucifer uttered.

The man's description of the creature was pretty accurate. He only forgot to mention few things. Like that the creature seemed to be made of obsidian, the black glass like surface swallowing all the light that impacted on it. Yet it seemed to burn from the inside, turning the black surface to deepest red in a few places. its three heads made a triangle, each head looking a different direction so nobody could sneak on the creature. It walked slowly towards them, kicking cars and brushing buildings along the way. People were screaming and fainting and running and driving in all directions. And some of them were, of course, taking pictures.

“Is it the apocalypse?” someone asked.

“NO!” Lucifer yelled. “Someone just unlocked the chain. Bloody idiot!”

“What is that thing?” Michael asked.

“That's Kerberos.”

“What?” He remembered Lucifer's pet demon saying something about it. He hadn't paid attention then – maybe he should have...

“He was the first guardian of the Hell's gate. Before I replaced him with the hounds. He was effective but hard to manage.”

“Why would you create something like that?” Robin asked.

“To prevent souls escape Hell, of course.”

“Wasn't it your job?” Robin asked.

“Oh, come on! You can't really expect me to sit at the gate all the time. Uriel doesn't sit at the Heaven's gate all the time either.”

“What does it want?” Michael asked.

“He's probably just confused and disoriented,” Lucifer replied. “He spent all his existence in Hell, this is new for him. I guess he just sniffed me out and followed me. It's his job after all to catch the escapees. Just let me talk to him.”

Michael frowned but let Lucifer walk near the creature. “Kerberos!” he yelled with a smile. “How are you, old man? Enjoying your vacation?”

The creature took a deep breath and growled mightily. Well, one of the heads did.

Lucifer stopped smiling and retraced his steps back to Michael. “Oh, that doesn't sound good.”

Michael rolled his eyes. He took his sword out and said to Robin: “You mind the girl. Fly away if need be.” And then he turned to the people who were watching the spectacle with wide eyes. “You humans get back inside. We'll take care of it.”

“Wait!” Lucifer tried to stop him, but he was too late. Michael had already spread his raven black wings and jumped in the air, sword ready. He managed to get near enough to hit Kerberos, but to his surprise the creature didn't even stumble. A gash appeared, yes, and something resembling lava leaked out, but as soon as it got outside, it turned to stone, repairing the creature's 'skin' immediately. Still Kerberos didn't like it. He waved his massive hand and managed to hit surprised Michael in his belly and threw him away like an insect. Michael flew through a wall of a building and ended somewhere inside a half collapsed house.

“Bloody hell!” Lucifer cried. “You see what I have to work with?!” he yelled to no-one in particular, pointing at the place Michael had probably landed butt first.

The people seemed to turn into stones, staring with disbelief at the scene. As was Robin. “This isn't good, is it?”

Kerberos growled savagely. He turned to the place Michael had landed. Apparently he wasn't finished with him yet.

“I think we've made him angry,” Lucifer pointed out. “Get inside. Take Trixie and go!” he yelled at Robin and the people as well. Robin obeyed, but some of the humans kept standing outside, staring and taking bloody pictures! Lucifer paid them no attention. If they wanted to die, he wouldn't get in the way. He swiftly created a small star in his palm and throw it at Kerberos before the creature had got to Michael. Kerberos barely stumbled. He absorbed the light with ease.

Lucifer really hadn't expected the light would have any impact on the creature. He had only wanted to get his attention and he had succeeded. The creature turned his direction and walked steadily towards him. The humans finally stopped taking pictures and started running out of the way.

“There, there,” Lucifer tried to placate him. “No need to get violent.” And it had absolutely no affect. Kerberos kept walking towards Lucifer, his pace increasing.

“Right,” Lucifer breathed and at the last moment he spread his wings, escaping the massive arm swinging towards him. He landed behind the creature's back, taunting him to get him away from the diner: “Missed me?”

Kerberos turned and growled. Lucifer stood still and waited. When the monster got near enough, he flew away at the last moment, again. He was aware he couldn't continue this forever, but it was all he could do for now. How he would contain the creature, he had no idea. The chain that had kept him locked to the wall in Hell had been specially made in Hell's fires, enforced by his own feathers. And it wasn't around his necks anymore... Lucifer didn't know if anything else could stop him. Kerberos was extremely strong (and extremely dull), and probably immortal (this one Lucifer had never checked). Well, the only weapon deadly enough Lucifer would have bet his money on, was Michael's sword. But as it had turned out, he would have lost his money... And now people were to loose their properties and maybe lives...

Lucifer dodged again and landed on the other side of the street. He watched Michael scramble out of the ruin he had landed in. His brother was covered with dirt and dust but seemed unharmed. Well, except for his dignity, perhaps...

Lucifer signaled him to stay where he was and jumped in the air again, landing next to him. “How do we kill it?” Michael asked.

“I have no idea,” Lucifer replied. “I was hoping your sword might get through his shell, but it obviously isn't pointy enough.”

“Samael, we have to do something or the creature will destroy the whole town.”

“Don't tell!” Lucifer cried. Kerberos lost interest in Lucifer and focused on the roof of one of the houses. He started to pick up roof tiles and eat them.

“That is so embarrassing,” Lucifer sighed.

“Maybe if I managed to stab him right to the soul...” Michael suggested.

Lucifer shook his head. “There's a problem in the plan – Kerberos has several souls. Hundreds, maybe thousands.”

“What?”

“I told you I made him to guard the gate of Hell. Any soul that tried to escape was caught by him and... well... eaten.”

Michael grimaced. “That's disgusting. Are you saying he can start to eat people any time?”

“No. He eats only the souls that escaped Hell. And roofs... apparently... But the humans are safe from him... well unless they make him angry or he step on them or destroy all their homes with them inside or-”

“Yes, I understand. First we have to contain him, then kill him. What if I stabbed all the souls in him? Would it kill him?”

Lucifer shook his head. “I don't think so. They're not the source of his life power.”

“What is?”

“I put a dying star inside him.”

Michael clenched his fists. “So how do we kill a dying star?”

“That's a million dollar question.”

Michael wanted to reply, but his voice was swallowed in a thunderous sound of firing.

“Don't!” Lucifer yelled, but it was pointless. The sheriff and a few other folks started to fire at Kerberos with the heaviest caliber they had found. It had of course absolutely no effect, except that it made Kerberos angry again.

“Bloody humans and their guns!” Lucifer yelled.

“Samael, any ideas?”

Lucifer looked around rapidly. There was nothing on Earth that could hold the creature forever. But maybe there was something that could hold him for a few minutes or hours if they were lucky. And the something was...

“Follow me,” Lucifer barked and jumped in the air. And for once Michael obeyed. “There,” Lucifer pointed at electrical cables leading from the town and over the mountains.

“Is that electricity?”

“High voltage line,” Lucifer yelled. “It may sting when you cut it.”

Michael didn't care about stinging. He was immortal and he wasn't stranger to pain if it was to come. He swung his sword and cut one of the cables. The sparks flew around him in all direction. But he kept flying and after several yards he cut the cable again, separating a sufficiently long part of it. Lucifer grabbed one end, Michael the other and they hurried back.

Kerberos was moving in the direction of the shooters who seemed to be out of bullets. They started to run from him, but the creature was too big and was slowly catching up with them.

The archangels flew in full speed against him, catching Kerberos with the cable on his middle. They didn't manage to stop him completely, but they did slow him down. They circled swiftly around his back, keeping the cable stretched, passing each other within inches and around the creature they flew, binding his hands to his torso, then his legs as well, making him stumble and fall to the ground with a resounding thump. The Earth shook with the impact, but then all went quiet... for a few seconds.

The angels landed on Kerberos's sides, one on his left, the other on his right, still clutching the cable. Lucifer barely managed to wipe off the sweat from his forehead when Kerberos tried to stand up. And strong that creature was... Lucifer dug his heels in the ground flipping his wings to keep balance, pulling with all his strength. As did Michael. Kerberos was tossing them like two puppets on a string in his efforts to free himself. They were barely strong enough to keep him down. More or less.

“Now what?” Michael yelled.

“I have no bloody idea!” Lucifer returned. He hadn't thought that far...

“How shocking!” Michael yelled sarcastically. “I don't really understand why did Father call you the brightest one!”

“You don't? It's simple – because the rest of you are idiots!”

“We are idiots? Look what you created!” Michael nodded at Kerberos.

“I did it to prevent the souls from escaping Hell!”

“Very well done!” Michael snapped. “And then you left the Hell, leaving the demons and this thing to their own devices knowing it was your job to rule it!”

“Job?!” Lucifer spat. “More like a sentence for eternity!”

“A deserved one!”

“Why?! Because I disobeyed Father?”

“Yes!”

“And who made Him the king of all creation?!”

“He did, you idiot!” Michael yelled back.

“Just because He made us doesn't mean He can rule us!”

“That's exactly what it means!”

Lucifer clenched his teeth. “Let's agree that we disagree!”

“Gladly!”

“Fine!”

“So, now what?” Michael asked again. They were still trying very hard not to let go. The cable seemed to hold for now, but Lucifer knew it wouldn't hold forever. Kerberos howled and growled, expressing his displeasure.

Lucifer shook his head, “I don't-” he stopped in the middle of the sentence interrupted by a weird noise. He looked in the direction the noise was coming from and his eyes almost popped out of his sockets.

“Bloody hell!”

“What in Father's name is that?” Michael asked.

“A snowcat!”

“What is that for?”

“To move snow out of the way.”

“Samael, there's no snow here!”

“Yes, I've noticed, thank you.”

“So what does it...” Michael frowned. The huge vehicle was steadily approaching them.

“Oh, bloody, bloody, bloody hell!” Lucifer yelled. It was the sheriff behind the wheel, her foot obviously pushing the gas pedal to the floor. She was rushing the machine to the fallen creature.

“Don't!” Lucifer yelled, but it was pointless. His voice wasn't heard over the noise and the machine hit Kerberos straight on his heads. It of course didn't kill him, not even hurt him. It only moved him several feet, the two angels with him. But what was worse, it caused an extra stress on the cable and it started to rupture.

“You're not helping!” Lucifer tried again, but the sheriff for some unfathomable reason thought it was a good idea to try and ride over a huge piece of rock...

“Stop!” Michael yelled as well. The sheriff either didn't hear or didn't listen. Robin appeared next to the snowcat and dragged the crazed woman from behind the wheel. But it was too late. The cable was rupturing faster and faster. But before it tore in two a very low, annoying sound started to resonate around them. It grew stronger steadily, it's pitch rising. And as it was changing, it had a specific effect on all things around. First leafs fell from trees and birds from the sky, all dead. Then walls and roofs of houses shook, some of them even cracked, glass vibrated and most of the windows burst covering the humans with millions of shreds. And then the humans started to shake with the sound, covering their ears in an effort to cut off the effect of it. Some of them screamed, some of them crouched in agony. And finally the angels felt the power of it as well. Lucifer and Michael let go of the cable, covering their ears, grimacing with pain. And when it seemed it would kill them all, it reached a pitch that effected Kerberos as well, making his huge body shake like a leaf in a wind. It shook more and more until it couldn't take any more and burst, disintegrating into thousands of smaller or bigger black shiny stones, the lava inside him spilling and solidifying almost immediately into a shapeless form. The imprisoned souls broke free and escaped into the atmosphere.

Lucifer and Michael were sent flying by the force of Kerberos's demise, the stones hitting them with full force. They landed on their backs several feet away, covered by debris.

Lucifer managed to sit. He shook himself off and squinted at the figure standing victoriously on the biggest rock that had been probably one of Kerberos's head. Gabriel grinned, his brown hair tousled, his horn in one of his hands: “What's up fellas?”

“Nice entrance,” Lucifer uttered, looking around. The town looked like an earthquake hit it... together with a tornado. He thanked the lack of fresh carrots in the diner's kitchen to save his life. If Chloe were here, he would most likely be dead.

The sheriff who was shielded by Robin's wings and thus had survived Kerberos's ending, stood up and looked at Gabriel: “Is it the apocalypse?”

Gabriel snorted and shook his head. “Why do you humans always think it's the apocalypse when a single town is a little... damaged.”

“Little damaged?” the sheriff shrieked. “It's leveled to the ground!”

Gabriel sighed. “And you always have to be so dramatic... Look, no-one's been killed... I suppose... And the houses can be rebuilt!” And it was probably true, the people were coming out of the damaged buildings, stopping in a fair distance from the angles. And they stared. Some of them with awe, some of them with fear, all of them with curiosity. Lucifer wondered how many of them would go crazy...

Lucifer frowned. “Hey!” he yelled at Robin. “You were supposed to look after Beatrice. Where is she?”

Robin turned his head. “She was in the diner when-” The diner was in more pieces than seemed safe. Lucifer waved his wings and landed at the door to the diner. He ran in and found most people in there were unharmed, some of them with what seemed to be minor injuries. But Trixie wasn't among them.

“Beatrice!” Lucifer yelled, looking around.

“She was covering under the bar,” the priest said. But the bar was shattered – part of the roof fell on it. Lucifer ran to the pile of wood, iron and tiles, and started to rummage through the pieces. The priest and some other people came to his help as did the other angels.

“Lucifer, the building will collapse soon!” Gabriel cried behind Lucifer's back.

“Then dig faster!” Lucifer yelled at his brother, his eyes turning crimson for a sec. “Beatrice!”

“Luciferrr!”

She was alive! Lucifer had never dreamed he would be so glad to hear the annoyingly pitched voice calling his name.

“Hold on!” he yelled back, making a sufficiently big hole through which Trixie could get out of her small hiding place. She raised her arms and Lucifer hoisted her out. She locked herself around his neck and they hurried out of the building before it fell completely.

Lucifer put Trixie down and checked all her limbs, counting to four. They seemed in an operating mode too, moving accordingly as he pulled and pushed them. He knelt in front of her. “Anything hurts?”

Trixie shook her head. Although there was a bump on her head, it didn't hurt. Not really, anyway.

A wave of relief washed over Lucifer. The girl was OK. He embraced her briefly and then patted her head awkwardly. Trixie smiled up at him and before he knew what was happening, she kissed him on the corner of his mouth.

“Oh, you wicked rascal!” Lucifer cried and wiped off the place her clammy kiss had landed on.

Trixie grinned her victory. “Is it dead?” she pointed at the heap of black glass like rocks.

“Well, I suppose it's as dead as it could be.” Kerberos had never been alive in the first place, having no soul of his own, so technically he couldn't be dead. The only thing that could be really dead was the star inside him... And maybe it was. It wasn't shielded by the stoney shell anymore, so it must have died, its energy fading away.

Lucifer looked around. The town was really destroyed. And there was no way out of the mess. The humans would know now... all of them. The people were taking pictures of Kerberos and the angels the whole time... even now they were staring at him and Michael and Gabriel and even Robin. And they were picking up the black rocks, inspecting them and taking them as souvenirs. Lucifer noticed some people were pulling out their phones or cameras, trying to take more pictures... and couldn't. The machines seemed to be all broken. Lucifer chuckled – it must have been one of the affect of Gabriel's horn... So there was still a chance the people had no proof of their existence...

A car pulled over next to them. It was the old Ford Chloe had bought. But it looked even worse now – all the windows were cracked. The woman in question jumped out and looked around the place. She spotted Michael and Gabriel. “What...?”

“Hi, Chloe!” Robin yelled at her, trying and failing to sound cheerful.

“What have you done?!” she asked the angels. “I mean I leave here for about thirty minutes and when I return the town isn't standing anymore!”

“There was an emergency, detective!”

“What? Demons?”

“No-” Before Lucifer had managed to complete the sentence, Trixie supplied: “A monster wanted to eat us. Look!” she pointed at the stones. Chloe raised her eyebrows.

“It's true,” the priest confirmed. “The... angels,” he indicated the four, “saved us.”

“Aha,” Chloe uttered, frowning. “Has someone called 911 yet?”

“I don't think so,” the priest said. “All the cells are broken and the wire telephones are without power, so...”

“Why are they without power?”

Lucifer looked guilty for a moment. “We needed to contain the monster somehow...” he indicated the cable.

“OK,” Chloe sighed. “Father, we need to find an undamaged building and move the injured there. Get some men and find it. Make a stop in a drugstore and take everything that can be used for the first aid. Robin, fly to the nearest town and find a police department. Tell them... that there was an earthquake here. We need ambulances and firefighters. And supplies.”

“Wait!” Michael stopped her. “You're not in charge here, woman.”

“And who is? You? Because I don't see you helping right now.”

“The humans can take care of themselves,” Michael snapped.

“Yes,” Chloe agreed. “That's exactly what we are doing.”

“Without you,” Michael added. “We have a plan how to catch Zadkiel...”

“Meaning you haven't done it yet?”

“...but we need to get out of here before he catches you.” Which was a possibility given the destruction they had just caused. “And we need to talk.” The last sentence was meant mainly for Lucifer.

“We can't just leave the people here!” Chloe protested.

The priest put his hand on her shoulder. “Go, we'll manage. If you are in some kind of a danger, just go.”

Chloe hesitated but when she looked at the faces of the people she had worked with the last couple of days, they all nodded their agreement although they looked pretty out of their minds.

“OK,” Chloe breathed out. “We'll stop at your house to pack. If it's still standing...”

The priest nodded and hugged her briefly.

“Thank you, padre. For everything,” Lucifer said and extended his hand. The priest hesitated for a brief moment and then took it. “And sorry about the town.”

“Well, maybe we'll be in the next Testament,” he joked slightly.

Lucifer snorted. “Trust me, you don't want to be there. The writers always twist things! At least now you know your belief is true.”

The priest shook his head. “Yeah, it's one thing to believe and... another thing to know. I think it's safe to say our lives will never be the same again. Be well, Lucifer.”

“You too.”

“And behave!” the priest added.

Lucifer snorted. “Never.”

“Come, monkey,” Chloe called to Trixie who was crouched next to the pile of rocks.

Trixie was fascinated. One of the stones wasn't completely black like the others, it seemed to glow slightly from the inside, the light turning the blackness into deep red. She grabbed the stone – it was warm to the touch – and pocketed it quickly, jumping up and running after her mother.

“Goodbye, reverend,” she singsonged when she passed the priest.

“Goodbye, Penny!”

 

Lucifer took the car with Chloe and Trixie, while the other angels flew the short distance to the priest's house. It turned out that it was still standing. In fact it was barely touched by Gabriel's little horn play.

“You mentioned a plan?” Lucifer reminded Michael while Chloe started to pack their things.

“Yes. But you probably won't like it.”

“Spill.”

“We took advantage of your disappearing with the prophet, which didn't go unnoticed, and supported the rumor in Heaven that you might be working with Mother.”

“What?!” Lucifer spat, his ire rising quickly.

“Calm down, Samael,” Michael said. “We will put things right after it's all over.”

“But why would you do that?”

“We think that if Zadkiel hears about this, he may try to contact you,” Gabriel explained. “He may be hiding from us, but he still may be in touch with other angels.”

Lucifer snorted. “That doesn't make any sense. He knows I'm not working with Mother.”

“That's not all,” Michael said. “We plan to spread out another rumor. That we found you and retrieved the prophet and that Father is going to punish you.”

Lucifer frowned. “How will this help?”

“Think about it,” Gabriel said. “If he thinks you are to be punished without any way out, he may think you might be interested in another way out of the mess. Like joining Mother. After all you're not known for your loyalty to Father and you're still a valuable force that can be used to defeat Him. And you have a connection to the prophet. And there's still a small chance he doesn't know who the prophet is since you burned all those demons in school who had seen her. I bet he would like to have that information.”

Lucifer snorted again. “You realize your plan depends completely on that Zadkiel doesn't know that we know he's the traitor? And he probably does know since he hasn't shown up anywhere since the fire in school.”

“Yes,” Michael agreed. “There's a chance it won't work. But we have nothing to lose. If it doesn't work, he simply won't show up. And we'll think of another plan.”

Lucifer frowned. There was something in Michael's eyes that bothered him. “So, what am I suppose to do if Zadkiel contacts me? Capture him?”

Michael and Gabriel looked at each other. “We thought it would be better if you played along,” Gabriel suggested.

Lucifer frowned. “You mean to help them find Beatrice?!”

“Pretend,” Michael said. “We'll keep the girl safe.”

“And then what?” Lucifer asked. “I can't lead them on for eternity.”

“Find out the most you can, preferably the place Mother is hiding. Once you get any valuable information you call us and we'll come to help you immediately.”

“And what if they find out I'm leading them on? You know Mother has very persuasive methods to get out the truth from anyone? I can't guarantee I won't tell her anything. Like Beatrice's whereabouts.”

“That's why you won't know it,” Michael answered.

“Absolutely not!” Chloe yelled. She heard most of the conversation while she was walking around the house, picking up their stuff.

“I beg your pardon?” Michael said icily.

“You want him to risk his life to get your Mother?”

Michael glanced at Lucifer and then back at Chloe. “Yes. It's probably our best chance to get her before she does something irreparable.”

“No,” Chloe shook her head. “I don't know your Mother, but all I've heard so far indicates that she is one crazy woman. I won't let Lucifer just walk to her... den!”

“It's not your decision to make,” Michael said. “It's Samael's.” He turned to his brother.

Lucifer hesitated. There was this small shadow in his brother's eyes... Maybe it was that Michael knew very well Lucifer had no choice if he wanted to keep Chloe and Trixie safe. They simply couldn't hide and run forever. Not even with him by their side.“Right,” Lucifer drawled. “Let's do it.”

“What?!” Chloe shrieked. “Lucifer,” she came to him, “you can't be serious. It's too dangerous.”

Lucifer smiled. “Why, detective, are you worried about me?”

Chloe frowned. “Of course I'm worried about you!”

“No need for that,” Lucifer sobered, “I'm the Devil after all. I'm certainly not harmless... And I assure you, detective, I've been in more dire situations than this before. Like being shot by you. Or babysitting your offspring.”

Chloe frowned. Lucifer was babbling, which meant he was trying to suppress something... probably fear. “Lucifer,” she whispered, “you don't have to do this. You don't owe anyone anything.”

“Your lack of trust in my abilities is rather insulting, detective,” Lucifer complained. “You don't have to worry, I can take care of myself.”

Chloe sighed and nodded slightly, there was no moving him... she saw the determination in his eyes. They shone brightly at her, a promise hidden deep in them. “What now?”

Lucifer turned to Michael. “Lucifer, Gabriel and I will return to LUX. If Zadkiel comes looking for Samael, he will probably head there first.”

“Wait a minute,” Lucifer stopped him. “What about Chloe and Beatrice. You want to leave them alone?”

“Robin will stay with them.”

Lucifer burst into laugh. “You can't be serious. I want you or Gabriel here, or I'm not doing it.”

Michael shook his head. “No. We both need to return to Heaven shortly to inform Father about your fake capture and ensure the information will spread.”

“What about Rafael?”

“He has some private affairs to attend to,” Gabriel replied.

“Samael,” Michael said, “it's best if all the archangels are in Heaven. If Zadkiel hears we're there, he will think that the prophet is guarded by only lower angels...”

“And he will be right,” Lucifer snapped.

“... and more tempted to contact you as soon as possible.”

Lucifer growled. “Then bring ten other angels! No, twenty...”

“No,” Michael refused. “We cannot risk that. They might be followed. And we would have to tell them about Zadkiel and you know how things are – the rumors would spread among the brothers and Zadkiel could escape. Samael, I think they are pretty safe. Nobody knows where they are. And if anything happens, they just call us and we come immediately.”

Lucifer frowned. He didn't like it a bit.

“Maybe there's one more angel we could put to guard them,” Gabriel suggested. They all looked at him. “Amenadiel. He's out of Heaven anyway and not returning in a near future...”

Michael nodded. “Yes. He could certainly use some good points now.”

Lucifer looked questioningly at Chloe. She nodded slightly. She remembered Lucifer's handsome brother.

“I go get him,” Michael said and vanished in a blink of an eye.

Lucifer shook his head. “He could be in Hell...”

“No, we met him two days ago. He and Maze were in LUX,” Robin clarified, feeling anxious just remembering Maze and her knives.

“Well, in that case, they will probably be here soon,” Lucifer said and eyed the girls.

Trixie sensed it was time to say good bye and ran to him, slamming her body to his and gripping him tightly. He put his hands on her shoulders. “I don't want you to go,” she whispered, head tilted back, her eyes searching his. Lucifer smiled tightly. His insides quaked and his heart rammed against his ribcage. “Well, we all must do things we don't like, sometimes.”

Trixie pulled a face. She knew that very well – she always did her homework despite the fact she hated it. “When will you come back?” she asked still gripping him with all her might.

Lucifer opened his mouth, then closed it again. He looked at Chloe for help. She came to them and put her hand on Trixie's head. “He will return when he finishes his job,” she explained softly.

Trixie nodded, but didn't let go of Lucifer.

The air around them shivered and Michael with Amenadiel appeared. They greeted each other, although Amenadiel looked grim, like he would prefer not to be here at all.

“We can go now,” Michael informed his brothers.

“Just a moment,” Chloe said and looked Lucifer in his eyes. “Please, be careful,” she pleaded, chewing her lower lip.

Lucifer snorted. “'Careful' is my middle name.”

_No, it isn't_ , Chloe thought with growing fear. She stood on her tiptoes and took Lucifer's face in her hands. And she kissed him lightly, lips to lips. She lingered there for a moment, savoring his taste. “Just come back to us, OK?” she whispered, blinking rapidly to prevent tears from falling down her cheeks.

Lucifer nodded, not trusting his own voice right now. How was it even possible to be happy and sad at the same time? And why was he even happy? He knew why he was sad – he was about to do a very stupid thing that could turn ugly easily. But why happy?

“Can we go now, or do you need a room?” Michael spat, disgusted by the spectacle.

Lucifer sighed, “fine,” he drawled gruffly. He untangled himself from Trixie and spread his wings as did Gabriel and Michael. They were gone in a sec.

Chloe took a deep breath. She had a very bad feeling about it.

“Don't worry,” Robin said. “He'll be fine. He's Lucifer, after all.”

“What?”

“I mean, if the stories about him are at least half true, then he'll be fine.”

“What stories?” Chloe asked.

Robin glanced at Amenadiel who shook his head. He turned back to Chloe and beamed. “Just stories... we should go now,” he said and took Chloe's bag. “May I drive that new car of yours? Looks interesting.”

“Whatever,” Chloe sighed. She sat on the back seat with her daughter and let the angel drive. An angel driving a car... that was so ridiculous... She touched her heart, it was beating surprisingly steadily given the circumstances. Maybe it was because of the Lucifer's feather still nestled in her bra, tickling her slightly and lulling her into hoping everything would be alright.

 

Lucifer and his brothers landed in his penthouse. It was exactly the same he remembered. Well, of course it hadn't changed. He had been gone only for three days... yet it felt like weeks.

Michael stood in front of him. “Ready?”

“For what?”

Michael smirked. “We have to be a little persuasive. You can't really expect Zadkiel to believe you gave up without a fight.”

Lucifer clenched his fists. “Right.”

“Can't deny I'm gonna enjoy it,” Michael smiled.

“Just don't break anything...”

Michael lifted his eyebrows. “You mean like this...” he asked and pushed an old looking vase that fell and broke into hundreds pieces.

Lucifer's eyes grew round. “You bloody bastard!” he yelled and jumped at his brother. Michael dodged and brought his fist to Lucifer's ribs, dancing lightly out of Lucifer's reach. Lucifer groaned with pain.

“Temper, temper, Samael... you've never learned to control it and that will always be your downfall.”

Lucifer fumed.

“A technique is what makes an excellent fighter, but discipline is what makes a winner.”

“I'm not interested in your lousy lessons!” Lucifer yelled and jumped at Michael again. He was prepared this time for Michael's reaction and managed to catch Michael's fist before it connected with his guts. Unfortunately Michael's forehead meanwhile connected with Lucifer's nose, sending him to the floor.

“You bastard,” Lucifer got through his teeth, holding his bleeding nose. He noticed a rug Michael was standing on and with one quick move he removed it from under him, sending his brother on his back. Lucifer jumped at him, hitting him in his face. He managed only one punch though, the second one Michael blocked and kicked Lucifer to his gut with enough force to throw him on the other side of the room.

Lucifer got to his feet. He touched his head and brought his palm back bloodied. He clenched the fist, his eyes turning red. He spread his wings and was on Micheal in an instant. They pummeled each other for several seconds. Lucifer got the upper hand this time and tossed Micheal to his formidable book collection, the books falling down from the broken shelves. Lucifer chuckled darkly and started to stride to his brother. But Gabriel stepped in his way, his eyes apologetic. “Sorry, Luci, but I'm supposed to be on his side,” he said and punched Lucifer on his cheek. It was a very lame punch, but it hurt nevertheless. Lucifer returned the favor with ardor and send his brother flying to his alcohol stash. It broke completely, all the liquid spilling on the floor.

“Not again!” Lucifer growled. A pair of hands grabbed him from behind and pushed him down on the floor and a knee pressed on his back. In the same moment the elevator dinged and the door opened. Maze stormed in with her knives drawn, throwing one of them at Michael. The archangel ducked at the last moment, avoiding the deadly weapon.

“Don't!” Lucifer yelled and caught the second knife flying by his head to the center of his brother's chest.

“What?!” Maze stopped, confused.

“It's just a sham,” Lucifer explained, getting on his feet slowly. Painfully.

Maze narrowed her eyes. “If you wanted to trick me, you succeeded. The blood all over your faces is a nice touch.”

“This doesn't concern you, demon,” Michael spat, licking his bloodied lips. “You can go.”

Maze snorted. “I have right to be here more than you do! And I want to know what did you do with Amenadiel. He was supposed to be here, but isn't.”

“Your lover is on a mission,” Lucifer answered her. “He's protecting Beatrice.”

“Samael,” Michael warned.

“Shut up!” Lucifer yelled at him. “She may be a demon but I can trust her more than any of the angels. And you can't blame me after what happened!” The words seemed to please Maze considerably.

Lucifer quickly informed her about Zadkiel's treachery and their plan. “Now, Mazie, I need you to do something for me.” Lucifer came to her and whispered something in her ear. Maze smiled darkly and nodded. “You can count on me, boss.” And she returned to the elevator.

“Where is she going?” Michael asked.

“Hell.”

“What for?”

“None of your business, brother!”

Michael nodded. “As long as it won't endanger the mission... Gabriel, it's time to return to Heaven.”

Gabriel rolled his eyes, Michael was always so bossy. He didn't know why he let him give orders, yet he did. He spread his wings, waiting for Michael.

“Go ahead,” Michael said, “I need a word with Samael alone.”

Gabriel shook his head. It seemed all his brothers had secrets these days but him. “Fine,” he breathed and vanished.

Lucifer looked at his brother. “There's something you didn't tell me,” he guessed.

Michael nodded. “I think Mother doesn't want only the prophet, but you as well.”

Lucifer frowned. “Why?”

“I don't know. Maybe to control the child?”

Lucifer snorted. Like anyone could control Beatrice. The little fiend would always do as she pleased. “And how did you figure that out?”

“The attack in the school. Why such a haste? Why to send half the Hell there? Why not to simply wait until you weren't near the prophet? Why not just find out who she was and then tell you it was a false alarm based on a false information? Zadkiel could snatch her after, when you weren't nearby.”

“Maybe he didn't want to risk I'd find out his deception? Or he feared I would hide her?”

“Or maybe he simply wanted to get you both.”

Lucifer snorted, realizing something: “That's why you came up with this plan. You believe Mother wants me and therefore Zadkiel will come to me.”

Michael didn't deny it.

“I wonder, brother, why you didn't tell me sooner this theory of yours.”

Michael barely blinked. “Because if they really want you for something, they'll most likely take you as a captive, not a potential ally. And in that case they'll prevent you to call us. You'll be on your own. You know Gabriel, he's softhearted and protective, he would never agree to the plan. And Rafael might be a problem too.”

“Right. But, you, dear brother, have obviously no qualms to send me there knowing Mother wants something from me. And it's probably something that I'll be reluctant to give her.”

“Probably.”

“So what am I to do after they got me, hm?”

“We need you to do anything necessary to stop her.”

Lucifer's eyes widened. “You want me to kill Mother to protect Father?”

“To protect all creatures alive or dead. You know she is unstable. All she craves is power and she won't stop until she gets it.”

“But to kill her?” Lucifer gulped. It wasn't like he loved her, not anymore. But still... she was his Mother.

“I always do what I have to do. All I ask of you, brother, is that you do the same just for this once.”

Lucifer snorted, shaking his head. “And if I get killed during the process, well, not such a big deal, right?”

“I believe in you, brother.”

“Oh?” Lucifer acted surprised, not buying his admission.

“As does Father,” Michael added.

Lucifer barked with bitter laugh. “Of course He does. I get He knows about it?”

Michael nodded. He walked to him and handed him a small locket on a chain. It was oval and blue with an opening on the side.

“What's this?”

“Father sends this to you. It should help you defeat her. Just open it straight in front of her, it should capture her.”

“How?”

“I don't know. Father didn't elaborate.”

“Right,” Lucifer shook his head.  Of course He didn't elaborate. He didn't care  what would happen to the one opening it ...  He was a tool, after all, nothing more...

Lucifer felt superfluous. Like a fifth limb on a human body. You could risk it and if it tore off, never mind, it wasn't needed in the first place anyway... or wanted...

“Will you do your duty, brother?”

Lucifer looked at Michael with all the suppressed hatred he had felt for him since he had throw him out of Heaven. “Oh, I'll do it, never worry, but not for you and not for Father. I'll do it, because I promised that to a little girl and her mother. You can take your duty and push it up your fancy ass.”

Michael didn't reply, wisely. He spread his wings and flew away.

 

One hour and several drinks later the air in Lucifer's penthouse stirred and Zadkiel landed in the middle of the room, a smile on his face.

Lucifer took a deep breath – let the show begin...


	14. Rewriting the Destiny

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lucifer meets his mother, finally. And tries very hard to accomplish his mission.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is even longer than the last one. Sorry...   
> I got this crazy idea after I had read a comment from Moyashi. And I fell in love with the idea. So here comes Susie and her stamps...

Susie had made a decision. It was the hardest decision she had ever made. It went against everything she knew was supposed to be. It went against the Order. And she knew the Order was the ultimate thing. There was nothing greater than that. She knew that she wasn't supposed to interfere with the Order. But... if she didn't interfere there would be no Order anymore. There would be no people to observe, no moments to collect, because there would be no time to flow, and no universe to exist in. There would be simply nothing.

And that was why she was about to do the inconceivable and for this once meddle with the Order. She had already made up her mind, packed her most treasured collection of moments (minus the one she had given to the Shining one) – the red album – and was about to step out, but... there was a huge problem in her way.

Susie hesitated. It seemed the Order was trying to stop her with forcing her to make this another, terrible decision. What to wear? The sun had already set, it was 10:30 pm, which meant she was supposed to be in her nightdress. Yet she was about to go out and she knew the rule of clothing for going out. She was supposed to wear shoes, socks, underwear, jeans and a t-shirt, not nightdress. So what was she supposed to wear in this case? A nightdress or a 'walking outside' clothes?

She hated people's incompetence with rules. They never set the boundaries clearly, somehow thinking everyone should know them without knowing. It was so confusing. The Order was so much better in this aspect – it was clear, black and white with no gray between.

Susie glanced at her clock – 10:31. She had only seven minutes left to make a decision and leave if she was going to do this. When the human's rules clashed there were always several possible outcomes – either one of them was wrong and the other applied, or they were both wrong and none of them applied or they were both right, somehow, and they both applied, somehow.

Susie thought hard. She ruled out the possibility that both rules were wrong in this case. She knew there was another rule – you can be nude only in a shower or when visiting a doctor. And that left her with the two remaining possibilities: either one applied or both applied. She couldn't tell, which was the case, but she realized another thing – the rules didn't exclude each other in this case, not really. She made a decision then to apply both of them. She didn't have much time left to think through in which order to put the clothes on, but she realized she couldn't put her jeans over the nightdress (it was too long), therefore she decided to put the nightdress over her t-shirt and jeans.

She grabbed her most treasured album and walked out of the convent to the street. There was a long walk ahead of her and she needed to be on time.

*****

The moment Zadkiel appeared, Lucifer's heart sped up considerably. It wasn't fear that had caused it, it was plain hatred. Still he tried to conceal it, sipping his drink slowly.

“Zadkiel,” he managed to greet his brother through gritted teeth. “Pour yourself a drink... if you find an unbroken bottle.”

Zadkiel sat on a couch. “No need for that, brother. We both know I'm not here on a social call. I'm here to get you out of the mess I got you in.”

Lucifer snorted. “And I thought you would at least try to pretend you're innocent.”

Zadkiel laughed. “That would be beneath our intelligence, don't you agree?”

“Yes,” Lucifer replied. “So now that you've admitted your crime can we get to the part where I kill you...?”

Zadkiel smiled. “But then, brother, there would be no-one to help you escape whatever punishment Father will sentence you to.”

Lucifer sipped his drink slowly. Michael's sham had worked it seemed. “So... how does it feel to be a fallen angel?”

“Pretty great, actually... Free. No Father breathing on my back...”

“Instead you have Mother breathing on your... front?”

Zadkiel shrugged. “One cannot be too picky.”

“So why did you do that? I assume it was you who released her from her prison?” That was something Lucifer wanted to know regardless his mission.

“Of course it was me. And why? Because Father has grown weak. He doesn't punish the humans anymore. They mock Him, they question His existence, they murder each other in His name.”

“Nothing new, then,” Lucifer uttered.

“But what does He do about it? Absolutely nothing! Few hundreds years back He used to care. He would have punished them accordingly. A flood, a famine or a nice disease. But now? He just sits up there and watches and that's all He does. He is so pathetic.”

“So you want to replace Him with Mother?”

“Yes. She will teach humans their place!”

Lucifer laughed. “You mean enslave them!”

“It's what humans do with animals. Isn't this the same? The superior species dominating the inferior one?”

Lucifer grimaced. No point to start a discussion about species with Zadkiel... “I really want to see how you will defeat all the angels standing it the way. And then how will you defeat Father? You know no weapon can kill Him.”

“Mother has been out of Hell for just a few weeks and look what she has accomplished so far. She has hundreds of demons following her, she has a base no angel is able to find and soon she'll have the prophet as well.”

Lucifer lifted his eyebrows. “Oh, really?”

“Yes.”

“You know I'm not telling you who it is?”

Zadkiel smiled. “You don't have to. We already know it's Beatrice Decker, daughter of Chloe Decker, your... partner.”

Lucifer tightened his grip on the glass until it broke.

“But don't worry, brother, Mother won't hurt her. She needs her alive and in a good health.”

“Well, I'm not telling where she is. Even if I wanted to, I can't, because I don't know.” Lucifer paused. He should probably try harder to get to Zadkiel's good graces. Not the other way around. But he just couldn't help himself. He couldn't make himself even pretend he entertained the thought of joining them.

“Well, I can't say I understand you, brother. I don't. I don't share your love for humans.”

Lucifer scoffed. “And what about your proclaimed son?”

Zadkiel laughed. “You know I made it up, don't you? Me? A son? With a human? Pf!” He shook himself in disgust. “But you must admit I made you believe... I think if I were a human I would be an actor. Maybe I would even win that... what is it? Omar?”

“Oscar,” Lucifer corrected him. “And yes, you did convince me, weeping so pitifully over your son's dead body. And yet it was you who killed him...”

Zadkiel shrugged. “One of the demons did it. Not me. But the truth is I told him to.”

“So you could get to me and find out the prophet's identity.”

Zadkiel nodded. “I see you figured it out.”

“Pity it didn't work,” Lucifer sneered.

“I must say you took me by surprise in the school. It was a common knowledge you didn't have your wings anymore. Imagine my surprise when you unfurled them and just flew away.”

Lucifer smiled. “I've been told repeatedly I'm full of surprises.”

“Yes,” Zadkiel nodded, his eyes narrowing. “What do you say we end this nice small talk and get to the business?”

“Agree. Let's hear your proposal.”

“It's simple. You join our cause. You fight on Mother's side, help her defeat Father and all the angels who will stand in our way. And in return you'll get whatever you want.”

“Oh? Whatever I want?”

“Yes. You can rule Heaven, or Earth or Hell if you'd like to return there.”

“With Mother as my supervisor?”

“With Mother as our empress. You shall be restored to your rightful status. It's your birthright that Father took from you. You were – are – the brightest of all angels, the greatest of the archangels too. You should be shown respect, not disdain!”

Lucifer grimaced. Why everybody always assumed he wanted to rule over anyone? Or that he wanted to be worshiped by anyone? It was so boring... He contemplated Zadkiel's sweet words but didn't find anything alluring in them. Few weeks back at least the part about being restored back to Heaven would have made his day, but now... all he wanted was to catch criminals with Chloe... well, and have sex with Chloe... and breakfast with Chloe... and-

Zadkiel interrupted his thoughts: “I see I intrigued you,” he said, observing Lucifer's face intently.

_Well, thinking about Chloe ha_ _s_ _done the trick it seem_ _s_ _..._ Lucifer mused.

“I can't say I'm ecstatic about it but it's still better than whatever Father has in mind for me...”

Zadkiel nodded with a satisfied smile and stood up. “Follow me,” he said and spread his wings. Lucifer did likewise and flew after his brother, through the 'passage' dimension, left and then up and up, the way strangely familiar. Surely they weren't headed where it seemed...

But they did. They landed on the edge of Heaven, on the misty plains surrounding Father's realm. The Gate of Heaven was clearly visible from their position.

“Quickly,” Zadkiel pointed at the space on their right. Lucifer frowned, not comprehending – there was nothing there, but he followed his brother anyway. Zadkiel chuckled. “You forgot what my ability is, didn't you?”

_Being a treacherous asshole?_ Lucifer thought and tried hard to remember. “Well, I guess I did...”

“Of course, who would pay attention to boring, invisible Zadkiel,” the angel complained with a sneer trying to conceal the hurt in his voice. They took another step and the plains with the Gate vanished from their view.

Lucifer stopped short. Something like a long hallway appeared in front of them. “What...?”

Zadkiel laughed. “You remember now?”

Lucifer nodded. “You can create space within space.” That's why they couldn't find Mother. They were looking in the spaces they knew...

“Yes. Never thought I would use it for something more significant than an extra storage room.”

They walked through the corridor, high white walls on both sides looming threateningly over them. Lucifer looked up but there was no ceiling, no sky, just a white mist. “I must say, you are quite bold to place your lair next to Heaven's Gate.”

“That was Mother's idea. But boldness has nothing to do with it. You know what they say. The darkest place is always under the candle's flame.”

They came to a white, metal door with a small, shut window in the upper part. Zadkiel knocked and the window opened. A pair of a demon's yellow eyes appeared. As soon as the demon checked the comers, he opened the door and let them in. He eyed Lucifer with caution.

They continued through another long hallway, a pair of demons armed with swords stated on posts every few yards. They walked into a wide room which reminded Lucifer of a throne room slash bedroom of a rich sheik from medieval times. There was an open fire in the middle, plush colorful carpets with intricate patterns covered most of the floor. The walls were decorated with white and pink satin curtains delicately embroidered with flowers. As there were no windows the room seemed a bit dark. There was a huge bed with red sheets and a canopy near one of the walls, partially hidden behind screens depicting naked bodies. Well known noises of sex were coming from behind the screens and Lucifer shuddered with the image of his Mother fornicating.

And the room was full. Of couches, chairs and tables with burning candles, and of half naked demons occupying most of the furniture. They were the most beautiful demons Hell had to offer it seemed. One of them – a stunning blond 'girl' was playing a harp and singing in a deep voice the melancholic melody of Greensleeves.

It was overwhelming... not in a good way. Lucifer wanted to gag.

Zadkiel coughed loudly to announce their presence. The noises behind the screens stopped and after a minute a stunning, tall brunette in a satin dressing gown appeared. Her face lighted with a huge smile when she spotted Lucifer.

“Son?” she breathed.

Lucifer flinched. He had thought, no – hoped, that he would never hear that voice again. Especially calling him thus. “Mother,” he acknowledged her with acid in his voice. He just couldn't make himself pretend...

“Still mad at me, are you?”

“Why? Because you just stood and did nothing when Father evicted me from Heaven? Or because you murdered people by thousands just to get His attention?” he asked sarcastically.

The Queen laughed. “Darling, don't be such a petulant child. It's not becoming.”

Lucifer snorted. “I'm not here to discuss my assets, Mother. I'm here because it seems I fell even lower in Father's eyes thanks to your other, less handsome son.”

Zadkiel frowned while the Queen laughed again. “You're not without guilt either. Letting me rot in that cell in Hell, not visiting me...”

Now Lucifer flinched again. Maybe she wanted him here to have her vengeance?

“No need to dwell on the past, son. What's done is done. I wronged you, you wronged me... as I see it we're even.” She sat on a couch and patted the space next to her. Lucifer didn't move.

“Oh, please,” the Queen drawled. “Can we be civil at least?”

“I'm not sitting next to you, Mother. You're naked beneath the gown and you smell of sex! That's disgusting!”

“And here I thought you loved sex.”

“Yes, I do. But not anywhere near my parents.”

The Queen snorted. “Yet it's exactly how you were made. I especially remember the moment we created you, it was-”

“MOM!” Lucifer yelled to shut her up. There was something extremely disturbing to hear about his parents having sex... “Can we just get to the part where I join forces with you to defeat Father? I must admit I'm quite curious about how you plan to do that...”

The Queen jumped off the couch. “Come with me,” she said and walked to another door leading from her 'throne/bedroom' room. They walked through another white corridor, passing several crossroads. Lucifer wondered where they all lead.

They came to a spacy room, this looked very differently though. It was almost like a factory with a huge pit of liquid lava in the middle, heating the room to uncomfortable degree. A dozen big, strong demons were working on what looked like a huge, sturdy cage made of steel bars. Their tools were clinking and clacking, their muscles straining, their skin covered in sweat.

“How are we doing?” the Queen asked.

“It's almost done,” one of the demons answered. “We used the bones of the saints as you instructed.”

The Queen nodded and walked to the cage. Lucifer watched as she stepped inside and commanded one of the demons to lock her in. After he did it, she grabbed the bars with her hands and pushed. Nothing happened for several seconds, but then suddenly the bars broke and the Queen screamed in frustration. The demons scurried away, fearing their Queen's rage, leaving them alone in the room.

“Are you trying to make a prison for Father?” Lucifer guessed.

The Queen frowned. “Since I cannot kill Him, I have to imprison him. But these...” she indicated the door the demons disappeared in, “cretins aren't competent enough to make a cage that would hold Him!”

Lucifer laughed. “That's because there's nothing that could do that!”

“I don't believe it,” the Queen snapped. “You made this!” she took a chain hanging on a wall. Lucifer recognized the chain immediately. It was the one that had been fastened around Kerberos's neck holding the creature in place in Hell. So that's why they set Kerberos free – they wanted the chain, the creature was just in the way...

“Yes, I did,” Lucifer confirmed. “But it still cannot hold God.”

The Queen pulled with all her might, trying to break the chain, but it held. She lifted her eyebrows at Lucifer meaningfully.

Lucifer rolled his eyes. “Mother, you are not God. He's stronger than you. Trust me, it can't hold Him. And even if He couldn't break it by a physical strength, He could simply let it dissolve into nothingness.”

“Then make something that CAN hold Him!”

Lucifer snorted. “That's why I'm here? To make a prison cell for Father?”

The Queen nodded. “Who else is more competent to do that? You showed an extraordinary talent when you created all the great weapons in the fires of Hell that can kill even celestial beings.”

Lucifer eyed the pit with the lava in it. “Is it from Hell?”

“Yes.”

So it was the Hell's essence melted by one of the dead stars – the Hell's fire.

“We have lots of items you can use as well,” the Queen said and walked to a long table with labeled jars and glasses and other, peculiar looking things. “We have bones of saints, a piece of the Shroud of Turin, angel and phoenix feathers, sand from the bottom of Dead Sea, a piece of Noah's Arch-”

Lucifer burst into laughter. “What are you trying to build here? A museum?”

“Well, we try everything we can.”

“Yes, I can see that. Only mummies are missing... You know most of these things are fake, right?”

The Queen frowned, while Zadkiel said: “But the sellers said they were authentic.”

“Mother, where exactly did you get these things?”

The Queen looked at Zadkiel again. “On eBay,” he supplied.

Lucifer wasn't sure if Zadkiel was making fun of him but given his very serious face he concluded that no, he wasn't. “Well, in that case, ALL the things are fake.”

Zadkiel laughed. “I got you again! Don't worry, brother, I got them from reliable sources. They are most definitely not fake.”

“Zadkiel, don't make fun of your brother,” the Queen admonished him.

Lucifer rolled his eyes. “Fake or not, they're not exactly divine objects. They hold no power. In other words they are useless.”

The Queen's eyes lit with comprehension. “That's what you used when making the chain – a divine object... your feathers, I presume?”

“Yes,” Lucifer admitted reluctantly. Although he was almost sure no cage, even super divine, could hold his Father, he wasn't about to test it. “But it can't hold God since He's the source of all divinity.”

The Queen narrowed her eyes. “We'll see about it. Now, get to work and make me a nice cage, just like you made this chain.”

“And then what?” Lucifer asked. “You don't expect Father to just walk in there and let you lock Him in?”

“Of course not,” the Queen replied. “That's why we need the prophet. She has a subconscious connection to Him. If I manage to work through her mind I can establish a link and lull Him slowly to a nice, deep sleep, sufficient enough to capture Him.”

Lucifer frowned. He didn't like this. “You'd play mind games with Beatrice?”

“Don't worry, she'll live.”

“And what about other humans? Will they live when you sit on the throne?”

The Queen smiled. “It depends...”

“On?”

“On their ability to worship me.”

Lucifer sighed. “Really, what's with the obsession of yours being worshiped?”

The Queen lifted her eyebrows, eying her son speculatively. “We're celestial beings, Lucifer. We're better than them. Without us they wouldn't even exist.”

Lucifer snorted. Better... sure. And yet all the angels still wore sandals in Heaven...

“Enough talk,” Mother commanded. “If you need the humans to live as they do now after I claim the throne, then you have my word that they will. I'll let them. As long as they will acknowledge me as their Goddess.”

“How noble of you,” Lucifer uttered sarcastically but the Queen didn't notice his tone.

“Thank you, dear. But now it's time for you to get to work.” The Queen looked at the pit with the fire of Hell meaningfully.

“It will take me years,” Lucifer complained.

The Queen and Zadkiel looked at each other. “Work faster then,” Mother said.

“Right,” Lucifer drawled. He reached to his pocket and touched the locket Michael had given him. He supposed this was as good a time as ever to try and capture her. There was only Zadkiel in the way...

Lucifer sauntered to his Mother, his hand in the pocket, ready. A demon appeared and whispered something in her ear. The queen smiled and nodded. “Looks like we have a way to make you work faster...”

“Oh? Will I get seven dwarfs to help me?”

The Queen leaned against the wall, smiling. “Let's say we have a way to motivate you.”

“Please don't tell me it's one of the demons in your bedroom. So not my type.” Lucifer still walked slowly towards his Mother, keeping the conversation flowing not to look suspicious. But Zadkiel noticed his advance and started to move to the Queen as well. Lucifer felt this was it. He had to act before Zadkiel did. He built a star in his free hand in a record time and threw it straight at Zadkiel. The angel managed to jump sideways, but was partially hit anyway. He grunted with pain and fell to the ground. Lucifer didn't waste time and pulled out his fist with the locket hidden in it. He opened it with his thumb and hurled it at his Mother.

A white light started to flow from the locket, reaching to his Mother as it flew through the air. It started to pull something from the Queen, maybe a life power, maybe something else... But then suddenly the locket almost stopped moving, and stood suspended in the air for a second before a dark hand grabbed it and closed it at the same time, the white light disappeared before it had finished its job.

“Amenadiel?” Lucifer asked, perplexed. Was there a new plan? Or... Amenadiel's face was rigid, his eyes unwavering, fully focused on Lucifer. “I'm here to help, brother. But not you.”

Lucifer gaped, feeling his blood freeze in his veins. Him too? But... what about Chloe? And Trixie? His heart skipped a few beats. And then his rage took over. His wings unfolding and his other form emerging with a burst of power he jumped in front of Amenadiel with a clear intent to send him down to the Hell (his soul to be precise) and retrieve the magical object. Then kill Mother and save his girls.

The plan was simple, but even though he managed to dislocate Amenadiel's arm and break his nose, he was stopped by a hit on his head. From behind. In his rage he forgot all about Zadkiel, who was now trying to hold him down, clawing at his wings, ripping away the feathers, until he managed to put his arms around Lucifer's body and got him to his knees. Lucifer grabbed Zadkiel's hands and let them burn a bit. Zadkiel screamed with pain and let go of him. But the moment Lucifer stood up, a searing pain went through his skull. He screamed, fell to his knees again and clutched the hand touching his forehead, trying to push it away. But his Mother was too strong, or more precisely, he was too weak right now. She had a grip on his mind, drawing every memory of pain she had found there to his conscious mind.

“Please!” Lucifer screamed.

Zadkiel recovered and jumped to Lucifer, catching him and holding him tight. “Mother,” Amenadiel called through the haze of her rage and his own pain. “It's enough. You'll kill him.”

The Queen finally let go of Lucifer's head and breathing hard to tame her temper she took two steps back. She took the locket from Amenadiel and eyed it wearily.

Lucifer was gulping air hungrily, trying to breath out the pain and dizziness.

“What was that, son?” the Queen asked with deceptive calmness. “It almost looked like you wanted to hurt me...”

“Told you it was a sham,” Zadkiel spat. “I don't know why you refused to believe me.”

The Queen heaved a sigh, sounding almost sad. “I hoped he would join us of his own will.”

“You're always so optimistic, Mother,” Zadkiel shook his head. “I guess all the acts are over now...”

“What is this?” the Queen waved the blue locket in front of Lucifer.

“I don't know,” Lucifer answered, fighting to stay conscious.

The Queen snorted. “He gave that to you, didn't He? To kill me? Or capture me?”

“I don't know what it does,” Lucifer repeated, his head still pounding after the abuse. He watched with horror as Mother neared him and touched his forehead again. He clenched his teeth awaiting the pain to begin anew, but his Mother sent him to oblivion instead.

Zadkiel helped Amenadiel to get his dislocated arm back to its right place.

“Bind his wings,” the Queen ordered, still looking at Lucifer with regret. “We don't want him to use them.”

Zadkiel and Amenadiel looked at each other. “With what?” Zadkiel asked. The Queen indicated the chain she was unable to tear. Her sons went to do her bidding while she left the room to change into something more formal.

*****

Chloe woke up disoriented. She knew she had been moved. She had felt it somehow, but couldn't have stopped it. She blinked, looking around. She was in a cell of some sort if the bars and the locked door were any indication. There was a narrow bed with a blanket in one corner, but that was it. No toilet or even a bucket... and nobody around. She closed the small distance between her and the bars and pushed as much of her face through it as she could. The only thing she could see was a long, completely white corridor running alongside her cell.

“Trixie?!” she yelled. No-one answered. She shivered with fear. This certainly wasn't good. The last thing she remembered was taking a break in the middle of a forest so Trixie could do the necessary.

Footsteps interrupted her memories and she took a step away from the bars. A well known face appeared.

“Amenadiel?” Chloe breathed with relief. The angel looked a little bit bruised. “Can you get me out of here? Where's Trixie?!”

The angel sighed. “I'm sorry, Chloe. I really am. You should have never got into middle of this.”

Chloe frowned, a dread crawling up her spine. “What have you done?”

“What was necessary. It will be better this way. And you don't have to worry about Trixie. Nothing will happen to her, you have my word.”

“You betrayed us. You betrayed Lucifer.”

Amenadiel gritted his teeth. “Yes, I betrayed the spoiled selfish sinner who has never done anything good in his existence.”

“You are wrong.”

“Yet somehow Father decided he was worthy to be the root of His next prophet.”

Chloe shook her head.

“I've known him for millenniums longer than you, Chloe.”

“Are you sure you betrayed him because you think he is bad? Or was it because you are jealous?”

“He's gotten into your head too.”

_More like into my heart_ , Chloe thought, feeling the presence of Lucifer's feather over the organ.

“If you've come here to get my forgiveness, you are wasting your time.”

Amenadiel tensed. How had the woman come to that conclusion? He had done nothing requiring forgivness. “I've come to tell you that you're in no immediate danger.”

“That is reassuring,” Chloe scoffed. “What will happen to us?”

“Mother will keep Trixie. She won't be harmed, I assure you. And you... well, it depends on Lucifer. If he cooperates, you'll be fine. If he doesn't...”

“I'll die,” Chloe supplied.

“Let's hope it won't come to that.”

“What kind of angel are you?”

“The one who wants to go back home, Chloe.”

“Well, that makes two of us. Where are we, anyway?”

“Heaven.”

Chloe's eyes widened. “It isn't exactly how I imagined it.”

Amenadiel chuckled. “We're not precisely in Heaven, we're on the edge of it. In a space Zadkiel built for our needs. But even here you will soon experience some dizziness, nausea. Bleeding later. Humans' bodies weren't built to live in Heaven.”

“So I will die here?”

“If you're here too long, yes. But I'm sure it won't come to that. After Lucifer will do what we want, we will let you go.”

“And Trixie?”

“I'm sorry, but she will have to stay. But don't worry. She has a part of divinity inside her, she will be alright. I have to go now, but I'll be back soon.”

“Wait!” Chloe yelled, but Amenadiel didn't even turn around, just marched away.

_Think, Chloe, think_ , she encouraged herself. She searched her pockets for something she could pick the lock with. It wasn't her expertise but still she knew the basics and probably could do it. In an hour or so. If she had found anything to do it with. Which she hadn't. She had found only her ID's, her wallet and the new cellphone. No service here – what a surprise. And who would she call anyway? Ghostbusters? The lieutenant? _Can you send a SWAT team to the_ _G_ _ate of Heaven, ASAP, please?_ _Special gear requested: wings._ Yes, that would certainly work...

She returned the phone back to her pocket and tried to think again – more in a line of angels than in a line of humans. Her head suddenly spun and Chloe grabbed the bars to keep her balance. A second later, just before the spinning stopped she felt a completely different sensation. Her chest warmed and the heat coursed through her entire body. Chloe looked down at her chest and found a bright light shining from her cleavage. She looked inside her clothes – it was Lucifer's feather, of course, shining a bit more than ever before. She remembered Lucifer's words about it's healing ability.

“Wow,” she breathed. Maybe her demise wasn't to come any time soon. At least as long as nobody would find the feather... she pushed it deeper in her bra, hoping the light wouldn't penetrate the fabric. Although it would be fun to walk around with a shining boobie, it might attract unwanted attention. That was if she got out of her cell somehow...

She thought again about her options, and remembered Lucifer's lesson about calling him. She tried that, although she realized Lucifer was most likely a prisoner like herself. Nothing... Well, she wasn't to give up yet. If this calling thing was working with Lucifer, it should be working with other angels as well. Right? She tried Gabriel, Rafael and even Michael (although she didn't like that one a bit). Nothing – OK. Robin then... please, at least the crazy 'teenager'...

“Don't bother,” an unknown voice startled her. “It doesn't work here. Well, actually it does, but this place is just a space within a space. And although my brothers can certainly hear you, they can't follow the call, because it leads... well, nowhere really.”

Chloe glared at the brown haired man on the other side of the bars. She remembered the man from Lucifer's party. He had been standing just beside Lucifer when that terrible, almost naked, almost perfect floozy crawled all over him. “You are Zadkiel.”

The angel bowed a little, clearly mocking her.

“I want to see my daughter! And Lucifer.”

“And I want the world peace. But if we are to get our wishes we have to work for them.”

Chloe narrowed her eyes, trying to asses her adversary. She knew his type. Quiet, not showing anything until it was too late. Letting people think he was boring and predictable. “What do you want?”

“I want you to help us convince Lucifer it is in his best interest to work with us.”

Chloe folded her arms and glared at him, giving him her answer.

Zadkiel smiled. “Let me rephrase. You are going to help us convince Lucifer it is in his best interest to work with us, whether you want to or not.”

Chloe almost lost her composure. What were they to do? She was to find out in a moment... Zadkiel beckoned to two men who were apparently standing just next to her cell but out of her view. Had they been there all the time or had they come with the angel? And were they demons? They opened her cell and grabbed her arms. She even didn't think about resisting them. She knew it would get her nowhere. If she was to escape, she needed to take her jailers by surprise. She was outnumbered and outmuscled, hence she needed to outsmart them.

_Wait, Chloe, wait_ , she repeated in her mind while the demons bound her wrists (in front, thankfully) with a duct tape. They led her through a long, white corridor. They passed several crossroads, sometimes they turned, sometimes they didn't. Chloe tried to remember as much as possible, but this place was a maze. There were lots of guards, demons Chloe guessed, stationed in the corridors. They all carried swords. How very medieval...

They came to a room that looked like some kind of a harem. The half naked beautiful bodies scattered around certainly gave the imprison.

There were carpets everywhere, a huge bed with a canopy and couches and chairs and curtains on walls. An open fire were cracking in the middle of the room. They led her to it and duct taped her to a hard, uncomfortable chair.

Chloe noticed a very beautiful, slander, tall woman standing several feet from her, looking at her curiously. Chloe gulped. She recognized the icily blue eyes – they were the same shade Michael had. But her body and her hair... it was all Lucifer. “Oh, God,” Chloe whispered.

“It's Goddess!” the woman yelled.

Chloe wet her lips. She was watching the woman carefully coming slowly towards her. She circled the chair and looked at Chloe from every angle possible. She narrowed her eyes and put her hands on her hips. “Are you sure about it, Zadkiel?”

“Yes, Mother.”

The Queen frowned. “There doesn't seem to be anything special about her.”

“I know.”

“She even isn't very beautiful. Or is she?” The Queen looked imploringly at Zadkiel. The angel shrugged.

“I saw how he looked at her. He will comply.”

The Queen wasn't convinced. “You don't know Lucifer as I do. He is... proud. And stubborn. He doesn't care about humans, not really. And he certainly doesn't respond well to blackmail. Or imprisonment.”

“If the human won't do the trick, we can always get creative. There are lots of instruments in Hell I'm wondering what they are for.”

Chloe gasped. “You can't be serious!”

The Queen only lifted her eyebrows slightly.

“You would torture your own SON?!” Chloe yelled, horrified. “What kind of a mother are you?”

“I've been locked in Hell for thousands of years. You think he cared what I was going through?”

Chloe gulped. “It wasn't his fault you had ended up there. If you hadn't been such a killing maniac your husband wouldn't have sent you there.”

The Queen took two steps closer and hit Chloe's cheek. “You have no idea what you're talking about, you midget.”

Chloe blinked rapidly, trying to stop a gathering of tears. It stunk.

“And thinking about it, there's no reason for you to talk at all,” the Queen added and beckoned to Zadkiel. The angel torn another piece of the duct tape and covered Chloe's lips.

A second later Amenadiel appeared, carrying a body over his shoulder. Chloe recognized the man immediately, although she didn't see into his face. The clothes betrayed his identity.

Amenadiel threw Lucifer's body on the carpeted ground unceremoniously. This time the tears came to Chloe's eyes. Although her common sense was telling her Lucifer wasn't dead, her heart squeezed with fear. He looked horrible. His face was battered and bruised, the left side swollen, his lower lip cracked. His clothes were dirty and torn, his jacket missing. Most of his blue shirt was covered with a long, thick chain, that was wrapped around Lucifer's chest and even neck, secured in place with a thick lock. Chloe could only guess it was meant to prevent him to unfold his wings.

“Wake him up,” the Queen commanded.

One of the demons brought a bucket of water and spilled it over Lucifer. It had an immediate affect. The Devil woke up and sputtered some of the water from his mouth. He tried to take a deep breath, but discovered he couldn't. Something was clenching the upper part of his body tightly, preventing his ribcage to stretch more than an inch. He blinked and looked down at himself. He recognized the chain he had made for Kerberos. It was currently adoring his upper parts, including his neck. Two sets of hands grabbed his arms and pulled him to his knees. He still felt weak and dizzy from his Mother's touch, the heavy chain pulling him down. The hands were holding him in place, preventing him from standing and falling at the same time.

Lucifer took in his surrounding, recognizing immediately the Mother's room. But then he looked straight ahead and his eyes widened and his heart sped up, beating triple its normal pace. “Chloe?” his voice sounded weak and gruff, strange even to his own ears. The detective was looking at him with terrified eyes, her beautiful mouth hidden behind a piece of tape.

“Now,” the Queen begun, “I believe we were having a conversation before you interrupted it so impolitely. As you may recall I said we had a way to motivate you. So here it is. You will do as we ask and build a God proof cage in a reasonable time, or we'll kill your human.”

Lucifer saw red. Quite literally. Every cell of his body protested against the image of dead Chloe. She couldn't die, and especially not here, in the middle of nowhere – her soul would never find the way to Heaven from here. He felt his body tremble with rage and fear, the weakness quickly being replaced by strength he didn't know he had, some of it coming from the depths of Hell itself, some of it from place he couldn't recognize. His eyes glowed, his far more menacing form emerged bringing the pieces of Hell with it. The ground shook slightly and the temperature rose. He saw Zadkiel take a step back in fear. The demons who held him let go and scurried away. Lucifer felt the strength reach it's peak quickly. He grabbed the chain with his hands. He tugged viciously and at the same moment pushed his wings out with all his might... The chain screeched. It stretched tight and constricted Lucifer's chest painfully. The wings bruised against it, fighting their way out of the prison, but couldn't get over the barrier. They folded back on their own, leaving Lucifer in searing pain.

Lucifer growled with exasperation and panted painfully, all his strength drained by his futile effort. Someone suddenly grabbed the end of the chain at his neck and tugged, making his head jerk backwards. Lucifer grabbed the chain with his hands, trying to ease its bite on his neck.

“That was a stupid thing to do,” the Queen admonished him. She came to him, grabbed his hair in her fist and pulled him to look her in the eyes. “Did you really think you could have broken the chain I couldn't?”

The demons returned to their posts, taking his arms and holding him down once again. Without his hands easing the pull of the chain on his neck, Lucifer started to choke.

Chloe felt the tears falling down her cheeks. She really didn't want to give that bitch this satisfaction, but she couldn't help herself. It hurt to see Lucifer like this. So helpless... so hurt... Part of her had trembled with fear when she had seen what was hidden beneath his exterior, but part of her had welcomed the power, wishing he would unleash it and kill the demons and the traitors. And the crazy bitch too.

She saw Lucifer flinch when his Mother's hand touched his cheek. With pain or disgust, she didn't know. She also saw his face turn crimson with the lack of air. They were choking him to death. She wanted to speak, to yell, but couldn't open her mouth even a bit. She could only humphed. But it seemed to suffice. She got the Queen's attention. The woman looked at her with a frown. “No need to be afraid, little human. We have my son under control now.”

Chloe glared at her, trying to indicate with small movements of her head that the demon was killing her son slowly. The Queen finally turned her head to the demon and signaled him to let go of the chain. The moment he did, Lucifer coughed roughly and gulped the fresh air hungrily.

“Now,” the Queen sighed, “where were we before you interrupted us? Again! Yes, the human!”

“She can't stay here. She'll die,” Lucifer choked slowly.

“She won't if you work fast enough.”

“Mother,” Lucifer breathed, hating the pleading tone.

The Queen took Lucifer's face in her hands, leaning closer to him. “Honey, there's really no need to fight me. I'm not your enemy.”

Lucifer glimpsed at Chloe. “Then let her go.”

The Queen sighed deeply. “I will. When I have my cage.” She rose and walked back to Chloe. “And to know I mean my words,” she touched Chloe's cheek, almost caressing her, “I will sweeten the pot. I'll make her love you.”

Chloe's eyes widened. As did Lucifer's. He watched Chloe shook her head furiously, pleading with her teary eyes.

_No, no, no, no_ , Chloe's mind screamed, while all she could yell was 'humh'. This was so wrong. Tears of rage flowed down her cheeks. How could that woman even think about doing something so terrible? How could she presume Chloe (or anyone) needed her 'help' to fall in love with her son?

“That's what you want, isn't it?” the Queen continued.

Lucifer felt disgusted with the proposition. And hurt... by Chloe's reaction. He realized he wasn't exactly Mr. Good and Perfect for her, but he wasn't that bad either. Or was that what Chloe really thought of him? That he was bad? He took a deep breath and focused on his Mother: “Why would you think I would want someone's love if I knew it wasn't even real?”

The Queen shook her head. “Sometimes, I don't understand you, son. Well, if you don't want it, you won't get it.”

Lucifer saw Chloe breathed out with relief, closing her eyes.

“But you have my word I'll let the human go after you'll build me a cage that can contain your Father,” the Queen continued. “And you know I never break my word.”

Yes, that Lucifer knew. He knew he shouldn't do this, he shouldn't help his Mother, but there really wasn't any choice left. Not for him at least. Between choosing his Father who didn't care about him, or choosing Chloe, who probably did care about him (just not that much), the answer was very easy. So he nodded his head, giving Mother his acquiescence.

*****

Robin woke up with a start, dreaming someone was summoning him. But it had been probably just a dream. His mind felt fuzzy, his wrists hurt terribly. He tried to move them to ease the pain, but the result was exactly the opposite. He hissed with pain, realizing his hands were bound behind his back. As were his feet. He was lying on a wet ground, somewhere in a forest and all he could see were stars through branches of trees moving slowly in a cold breeze. It was night.

“Shit,” he breathed, closing his eyes again, trying to remember what had happened...

_...several hours ago..._

They were driving for two hours now, mostly north. Robin had been trying to initiate a conversation since the minute they had left, but no-one else had been in a mood, it seemed. Well, he was glad that Chloe hadn't asked were they were headed since he didn't know, but anyway... anything would be better than this silence. The old, barely functional car didn't even have a radio... And why was there a crate full of carrots?

“I need to pee,” Trixie whispered.

“Pull over,” Chloe said to Robin.

“Here?” Robin asked. They were in the middle of a forest.

“Yes, we can manage,” Chloe answered and Robin fulfilled her request. Trixie ran to the forest, hiding behind a tree. Chloe followed her.

Robin shook his head. “Humans. They're so funny, don't you think? I think I get why Lucifer likes them so much.”

Amenadiel looked at him. “You admire him, don't you?”

“Who? Lucifer? No, of course not... it's just, well... I mean they've always warned us about him in Heaven. You know, like be good or you'll end up like the fallen one. But... he doesn't seem so bad...”

“That's because you don't know what you're talking about. Don't get confused by his charms, he's very dangerous.” Amenadiel kept looking at Robin for a longer while, making his skin crawl.

“What?” Robin asked, perplexed by Amenadiel's scrutiny. The other angel didn't react. It occurred to Robin the humans were taking too long... “Shouldn't they be back by now?”

“No,” Amenadiel said. “It'll take them much longer.” 

Robin looked behind Amenadiel and noticed a bird suspended in the air. And it wasn't moving, nor falling. “What-” he didn't have a chance to finish, a huge fist connected with his nose and sent him to oblivion.

_...now..._

“Oh, shit!” Robin yelled again, realizing his failing. Why was he always loosing the detective? He didn't know what had Amenadiel used to bind him with, but he supposed he should be glad the angel hadn't killed him. Anyway, he needed to get out of this mess and tell his brothers he had failed. Again. He tried to pull against the bindings but they only seemed to tighten, leaving his hands numb and in severe pain at the same time. He took a deep breath and tried again, screaming with the pain, but this time he didn't stop till the thing binding him broke and his hands were free. He felt hot liquid ooze from gashes on his wrists. He was afraid to even touch them... He managed to put his palms together though and prayed. In a few seconds the three archangels appeared, ready for a fight. But as soon as they saw him they realized the fight was already over.

“What happened?” Michael demanded. “We felt Chloe summoning us but we couldn't tell where she was.” Rafael and Gabriel helped Robin to get out of the rest of his bindings. Amenadiel had used a wire...

“Amenadiel,” Robin replied. “I didn't see it coming... I'm so sorry.”

Michael's eyes widened, his rage palpable even in the darkness surrounding them.

“Michael,” Gabriel gasped, “we need to warn Lucifer. If Mother has the humans she can make him do anything she wants.”

Michael nodded, although he really doubted Lucifer was still on Earth. They flew to his penthouse immediately, landing in the middle of the empty apartment.

“Lucifer!” Gabriel yelled, but there was no answer.

Robin sat on the couch and put his face in his hands. “It's all my fault,” he mumbled. “The crazy bitch will kill him, won't she? And Chloe, she will kill her too, when she's done with Lucifer.”

“You're not the only one to blame,” Michael spat. “I should have seen that coming. Amenadiel wasn't himself anymore, sleeping with a demon...”

“Hey!” Rafael yelled, “nobody's dead yet.” He walked to Robin and took off his gloves. He touched his abused wrists and healed them quickly.

“Maybe we should ask Father for help,” Gabriel suggested.

“I'm not sure He can help us,” Michael replied.

Gabriel grimaced. “Really? Or maybe you just don't want to tell Him we have failed.”

Michael clenched his teeth. “Careful, brother.”

“Why?” Gabriel snapped. “Will you kill me for saying things you don't want to hear?”

Michael took a step towards him, but Rafael blocked his way. “Stop. We have to stick together now, not fight each other. If there's still any chance to win...”

Michael and Gabriel stopped and nodded. A long silence followed. No-one seemed to know what to do next.

“We should head back to Heaven and inform Father about the development,” Michael suggested. He spread his wings but at the same time the elevator dinged and a small figure stepped out of it. The angels looked at the newcomer with curiosity. It was a small girl, clad in jeans and something like a white nightdress with a printed pink teddy bear on it. Her long blond hair covered most of her face and in her hands she clutched something that looked like a red book.

“Susie?!” Robin asked in disbelief.

She looked around, not put off by Michael's wings, and without uttering a word (or a sound) she came to Rafael and raised her hand to him, holding a small picture. The angel took it hesitantly. It was a stamp with a baby on it. He frowned, not understanding what the girl wanted. “Have you lost a baby?”

Susie rolled her eyes (only in her mind, because it hurt doing it literally) – this one was even thicker than the Shining one. She opened her collection and put out another stamp, handing it to the angel. It was a picture of Mother Mary and small Jesus. Rafael was baffled. “I... I don't understand,” he stammered.

“Let's go,” Michael commanded, “we don't have time to play with children.”

“Wait,” Robin said and walked to Rafael, looking at the pictures.

“You know this girl?” Rafael asked.

“Yes, she is living in a convent. She is autistic. She gave one of those to Lucifer as well. Except that one had a fallen angel on it. I think it's how she communicates.”

Rafael looked at the stamps again, a disturbing thought occurring to him: “How... how old is she?”

“I don't know. Seven? Eight? She's certainly no baby,” Robin indicated the pictures. “Hey, maybe she thinks you are...”

Susie opened her book again and handed it to Robin. It was difficult to do so. All her meticulously collected moments handed over like they meant nothing. But she knew she had to if there was any chance to save the Order. She hugged herself tightly and started to rock slightly on her feet.

“We really must go,” Michael reminded them.

“Just give me a minute,” Robin said, ignoring Michael's disproving face.

Robin browsed through the pages, looking at the stamps with interest. There were hundreds of them. In several languages, even in several scripts. Some of the stamps looked very old, some of them quite new. It seemed there was no order in their arrangement, yet Robin knew that autistic people were famous for their need of order. So he tried to find one. He got to a page with a missing stamp – he assumed it was the one Susie had given to Lucifer. The interesting part was the stamp before the missing one – there was a dead nun on it. And on a stamp before that was one depicting what looked like some kind of a witch carrying away a crying child. Robin turned the page forward and frowned. There was a picture of a dead child, a picture of a school, a picture of deformed people, a picture of fire and an angel with white wings and... Robin Hood?

“Holly shit!” Robin yelled.

“Language!” Michael snapped.

“Sorry, but look at this. This is the whole story of our lives. This really happened. Look, this is me!” he showed the picture of a man with an arrow to Rafael.

“Really?” Rafael frowned.

“Yes! Like Robin Hood? I'm named after him.” Robin turned more pages and stopped at one with a stamp of a three headed dog. “And here's Kerberos – well, the Greek version.”

It piqued the other angels' curiosity. They came nearer and looked over Robin's shoulder.

“You say it's like a history book?” Gabriel asked.

“Yeah, it's really something!”

“How could she know about Kerberos, though?” Michael asked, eying the child with suspicion.

“I have no idea,” Robin shook his head and turned another page. There was a picture of a forest, a picture of Judas Iscariot – the traitor and then there was a picture of the Heaven's Gate, and then one of Death. Like a grim reaper, a skeleton with a scythe. And a picture of a graveyard, and a picture of fire and the four riders of apocalypse and dead bodies... “But this hasn't happened... yet...” Robin whispered.

Gabriel grabbed the album, looking at it carefully. “Do you think she's some kind of a seer?”

Rafael took the album next, turning it to the first page. What he discovered there was quite disturbing. There was a picture of an angel, and a picture of an apple and one of a feather and then there were two pictures of babies and two missing stamps – the ones Rafael held in his hand – that of a baby and that of a Jesus, the prophet.

Rafael gulped. He finally got the massage. It seemed three babies and one prophet were born in the beginning. Well, it appeared the truth had a way to sneak out... “Brothers, I have a confession to make,” he announced, eyes downcast. “Nine years ago, when I went to Earth, I wasn't drunk. I... I ate an apple from the forbidden tree and... well... it affected my judgment and I... I had an affair with... ehm... three women and...” He chanced to look at his brothers. Their horror stricken faces stopped his confession. Michael looked at Susie, realizing what Rafael was saying and grimaced with disgust. Gabriel actually took a few steps away from the girl like she had a leprosy...

“Ewww,” Robin breathed out. “She is your daughter? Like half human? Like a nephilim?!”

Rafael took a deep breath. “Yes, it appears so.”

Susie sighed with relief. Finally! Maybe he wasn't that thick after all. She took her album from Rafael's hands and found the page she needed. She took out another stamp. Rafael looked at it. “The Gate of Heaven?”

Susie nodded.

“Wait!” Gabriel interrupted. “What is she doing?”

“Trying to communicate?” Rafael guessed.

“No, I mean why is she even here? What is she trying to do?”

Rafael shrugged.

Susie growled in exasperation. She took the book from Rafael's hands as well as the stamps he was still holding and walked to a table. She started to furiously turn pages and pull out stamps. She made pattern from them in a shape of 'Y' on the table and then stepped away.

The angels came nearer and looked at the pictures. It started in a single row with the picture of Kerberos, then the events continued as they really had happened until the point of a gathering suggesting the present. From there led two lines. One depicting the angles and Heaven, a war ending with grim reaper, the other depicting angels and the Gate of Heaven, children and war ending with a question mark.

“I think she's trying to help us,” Rafael answered Gabriel's former question.

“Don't be ridiculous, she's a nephilim,” Michael contradicted.

“Well, I'm quite sure even nephilims don't want to die,” Gabriel suggested, pointing at the row of stamps ending with death.

“So you propose we follow a word of a nephilim child?” Michael snapped.

“What do we have to loose?” Gabriel asked. “It's not like we know what to do next, right?”

“NO,” Michael said. “I'm not putting our lives in danger on a word of a nephilim.”

“It's our lives and we can put them in danger if we want,” Rafael opposed.

“You don't have to come, if you don't want to,” Gabriel added.

Micheal's eyes narrowed.

“Listen,” Rafael begun, “let's try this. Let the child lead the way and have a look. We'll see then.”

“She'll die,” Michael said. “No human can enter Heaven with a body.”

“She's half angel,” Rafael reminded him. “She will make it.”

Michael glimpsed at Robin. The angel nodded in agreement. “Alright,” Michael consented. “Lead the way, child.”

Susie breathed with relief. There was still hope after all. She took the stamp with the Heaven's Gate and handed it to Rafael. She lifted her arms then, closed her eyes and let the angel pick her up. She shuddered with the sensation, but she knew she had to suffer through it if they were to save the Order from ending.


	15. Between Heaven and Hell

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Let's see how the world ends... not.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is extremely long. Too many players on a chessboard... I considered to split it into two chapters, but it would make no sense. There's a lot of action and the characters interact a lot. So I recommend you make time a read this in one go.

They took Lucifer back to the large room with the pit in the middle. Besides about twelve demons Amenadiel came along, watching him carefully. The Queen stopped next to the pit, the blue locket dangling from her hand on its chain. “I may not know what this thing does,” she begun, “but I could feel the enormous power emanating from it when you opened it. I want you to use it to build the cage. And remember that I still have your human.”

Lucifer nodded stiffly. The last part was a threat, he understood that perfectly. “I can't guarantee this will work. I only used my own feathers to forge this,” he indicated the chain still snaked around his torso, making any movement uncomfortable and awkward. “And I don't know what will happen when I open the locket.”

“Then do it carefully, son.” She handed the locket to Amenadiel. Lucifer watched his brother hesitate just for a split of a second, but then his fist winded itself around the locket protectively. The Queen left them to work.

Lucifer eyed his brother speculatively. He was sure he hadn't imagined that – it had been there, the doubt, if only for a short moment. “Are you sure you know what you're doing, Amenadiel? There's still time to reconsider...”

“I'm doing, what I have to,” Amenadiel answered.

Lucifer shook his head, not comprehending.

“Michael made it quite clear I wasn't welcome in Heaven anymore. After the Malcolm debacle and sleeping with Maze. He wants me to repent, to leave Maze. And why? Just because she's a demon?”

Lucifer couldn't believe his ears. “You decided to change the sides so you could keep having sex with Maze and return to Heaven at the same time?!”

“Yes. Unlike Father Mother doesn't have any rules about pureness of anyone's soul. All angels should be allowed to enter Heaven, it's our birthright. It's our home.”

Lucifer's anger built quickly, rising to his head, making his eyes burn and the hot room even warmer. “You gave them Beatrice and Chloe because you couldn't stand the thought of not being allowed home?!” he yelled, his color turning to his other, less handsome form.

“Do not judge me. You would do anything to get back to Heaven too.”

“No, I wouldn't,” Lucifer hissed, shaking his head. The place had lost its allure a very long time ago.

Amenadiel scoffed. “Yes, you would. If you knew it could be done. And if the ones you love didn't stay in the way.”

Lucifer smiled sadly, finally comprehending. “You love Maze!”

Amenadiel shuffled awkwardly. “It's none of your business.”

“Does she know? Does she love you back? And what exactly do you think Maze will do when she finds out you have betrayed us, hm? Slap your shoulder in appreciation?”

Amenadiel winced. “She'll see the logic in my doing.”

“Will she? Do you know her at all? Do you know the reason you probably fell for her? I think I do. She is loyal above all things. Especially to the one who had created her. ME, you moron!”

“Just because you gave her tortured soul a body, doesn't mean you created her.”

“And yet it's the exact reason she decided to follow me anywhere.”

“Don't flatter yourself, Lucifer. She is more her own woman now than your dog!”

Lucifer snorted. “We'll see about that.”

Amenadiel frowned and took a step closer to his brother. “Just do what you have promised to do. And better do it quickly, while Chloe is still alive.” He put the locket on a table and left the room in angry, long strides.

Lucifer looked at the locket. This was the first time in his life he considered breaking his word and just kill the demons, grab the locket and find his Mother. The problem was his wings were still bounded and Chloe was held somewhere... As was Trixie. No, he couldn't risk their lives. So he restrained himself and got to work on the stupid cage. He knew his Mother would keep her end of their bargain and let Chloe go.

*****

This was worse than being kept in detention, Trixie thought. They put her in a nice room with toys, but they were all for small kids. Why would they think she would like to play with a wooden train on wheels with a string attached to its front?

She asked politely to see her mother, but the big, ugly babysitter, which was most likely a demon given his very yellow and very sharp teeth didn't even acknowledge her presence.

At least she wasn't alone in the room (not counting the demon). There was a small boy, probably her age, sitting in the corner, rocking slowly back and forth, his eyes trained on the door, never leaving them. Trixie gulped. What had they done to him? Was she going to end up like that too? She walked to him tentatively, stopping in a reasonable distance.

“Hi, I'm Trixie,” she whispered. The boy didn't answer. He just kept rocking. Trixie turned to the demon to see if she was allowed to speak with the boy, but the demon didn't pay them any attention. In fact he was busy picking his nose. Trixie pitied him just for a moment. If he was doing that, it could mean only one thing – he didn't have a mom to tell him it was a bad habit.

A steady clacking coming nearer caught her ears. Trixie knew the noise was made by heels. By sharp, long heels to be precise. The ones her mother almost never wore. The clapping stopped in front of the door and Trixie heard a key to be inserted and turned. She faced the door fully, prepared for whoever was to come through it.

It was a woman. A very beautiful, very, very tall woman. Trixie followed the long legs up and up and ended at the very blue eyes. The woman smiled at her. “Hello, Beatrice.”

She entered the room and closed the door behind her. “I'm so glad to finally make your acquittance.”

Trixie kept silent and watched the woman with caution. She guessed who she was. Lucifer's Mother. A very bad mother, in her humble opinion.

The Queen frowned at her. “Don't you know it's considered polite to say 'nice to meet you' in return?”

“Yes,” Trixie answered, “but Lucifer said I shouldn't lie.”

“Huh! Did he?”

Trixie nodded and the woman smiled at her. “I like you. You have courage.”

“But I don't like you. You are bad!”

“Oh,” the Queen played wounded. “Let's don't get ahead of ourselves. Maybe we should get to know each other before we judge each other. What do you think?”

Trixie folded her arms over her chest defiantly and protectively at the same time. “Lucifer said you were crazy and Lucifer never lies.”

“Just because Lucifer believes that what he says is true, it doesn't mean it really is.”

Trixie frowned. This sounded too complicated. Was the bad woman trying to confuse her?

“You don't have to be afraid of me,” the Queen continued. “I'm not going to harm you.”

Trixie looked at the boy behind her back. “What did you do to him?”

“Nothing,” the Queen replied. “He was like that when they brought him here. His brain is muddled.”

Trixie frowned. How was she to know whether the woman was lying or not? “Lucifer said you wanted me, because I'm the prophet.”

The Queen gritted her teeth. If she heard one more time 'Lucifer said' she would crack the awful little human's skull open. “And he's right. You see, a very long time ago, my husband, Lucifer's Father, decided He didn't want me anymore. He divorced me and locked me in Hell for all eternity. The same as He did to Lucifer. Do you think Lucifer deserves to be locked in Hell?”

Trixie shook her head.

“So you see, my husband was wrong to do it. As He was wrong to lock me there too. He is the one who's bad, thinking only about Himself. Tell me, child, did He ask you to be His prophet?”

Trixie's eyes widened.

“Of course He didn't. He simply made you one, not bothered by your opinion. He is the one who's bad. And you and I are going to dethrone Him and lock Him in Hell like He locked me and Lucifer. And then Lucifer can return to his home, Heaven. And you can go too, if you want.”

“And mommy?”

The Queen grimaced before she checked herself. “Yes, your mommy can go too.”

Trixie thought about the words hard. They made sense yet she was reluctant to believe the woman in front of her. She simply made Trixie's skin crawl.

“You think about it,” the Queen said and turned to the door. “We'll talk later.”

“Can I see my mom?!” Trixie blurted out.

The Queen stopped and turned to her. “No, not now. Your mother is occupied. But I promise you, you can see her later. After we will capture my ex.”

Trixie watched the door being closed with a heavy heart. She once again heard the key turning and locking the door.

*****

It almost seemed they all forgot about her. The couple fornicating on a couch in front of her gave the impression. Chloe still sat on the hard chair, taped to it, her mouth still covered with the piece of the same tape. During the time she had felt twice the feather in her bra warm her skin, just when her head had spun a bit. She wondered how much energy this little divine piece held. How long until its power is depleted...

Being left with nothing else to do but think, Chloe thought a lot. Her fear was slowly rising. What were they going to do to her daughter? They wouldn't kill her, that was clear, but would they hurt her? And what about Lucifer? What would they do to him when he finished the cage? She couldn't shook off the last image of him, how broken he looked. He probably blamed himself, thought he had failed them... Yet Chloe knew there was nothing he could have done differently. Surely he knew that as well...

They finally remembered her, cutting her off the chair and led her back to her cell, hands bound, mouth covered. The two armed jailers pushed her in and took their posts next to the bars, just out of her view. Chloe quickly peeled off the tape from her mouth and then used her teeth to get rid of the tape binding her hands together. Then she turned her back to the bars and glimpsed in her bra where the feather was nested. It still looked the same.

She thought about how to get out, again. She still had nothing to use as a door opener. And there were the guards. All she had was the feather. What had Lucifer said? That it could kill demons? How exactly? And was one feather enough to kill two of them? She formed a plan in her head and although it seemed a bit desperate, she decided to go with it. She had nothing to loose, after all.

“Excuse me,” she said through the bars. “Could you bring me some water, please?”

No response.

“I'm not feeling very well. You know, people have to drink or they die. And if I die, Lucifer will have no reason to cooperate with you. I bet your Queen wouldn't like that.”

That got their attention. The jailors turned to her. “How much water?”

“A bucket would be nice,” Chloe said, hoping the more water she requested the longer it would take him. The demons looked at each other and one of them left. The other returned to his post.

When the echos of retreating footsteps died, Chloe reached in her bra and pulled out the feather. She closed her fist around it, leaving only the not that sharp end of it sticking out. She laid to the ground and started screaming, pretending having a seizure of a sort. Finally her acting days paid off...

She heard the door being opened and two hands grabbed her. “What are-”

The demon didn't have a chance to finish his question, Chloe thrust the end of the feather right to his eye. The demon screamed, his hand reaching to his eye. But before he could have pulled the feather out, his whole body started to glow and a second later it shattered, exploded like ignited from the inside. And with the body the feather was gone too.

Chloe stood up, covered in demons blood and entrails. She wanted to vomit. She picked up the demon's sword and looked out of the cell. The long corridor was empty. She remembered other guards were posted further, closer to the harem like room. She walked out and turned left. Her plan was simple. She would hide and look. And if she was lucky she would find Trixie or Lucifer. And then... then she would think of something.

*****

The trip to the edge of Heaven was long. They couldn't simply took a shortcut through the 'passage' dimension, not with the little nephilim child in Rafael's arms. So they took the normal path – up and up, until the air was scarce, making the little half human breath heavily. They got to the door leading to Heaven's plains, hidden to all but angels and souls deserving to ascend there.

They landed on the edge, the milky mist floating gently around them. The Gate of Heaven stood nearby, its golden markings welcoming and reassuring.

“Now what?” Michael asked, folding his wings.

Susie let Rafael put her down and without looking anywhere, she started to march right and kept going. Rafael shrugged his shoulders and walked after her. The other angels followed him. After a few seconds the child suddenly disappeared.

“What in Father's name!” Gabriel yelled, surprised. They increased their pace to catch the girl and when they passed an invisible threshold they found themselves in a white hallway, a white door on its end. They all gaped at it.

“What is this?” Robin asked.

“Zadkiel,” Gabriel answered. “He must have created this. Which means it can be hundred of miles long or wide.”

“Unbelievable,” Michael uttered with disgust. “She built her den right next to the Heaven's Gate.”

“Does it really surprise you?” Gabriel asked. “It's Mother. She's always been... unpredictable.”

“Hm,” Michael agreed. “'Unstable' is a better term.”

“Now what?” Robin asked.

Michael drew his sword and strode to the white door. There was a small, closed metal window at the level of Michael's chin. The angel knocked loudly. The window opened and a pair of yellow eyes looked at him through the hole. The eyes widened comically, the owner tried to close the window quickly, but Michael was faster. He grabbed the demon by his neck through the hole, pulling his face as close as the door allowed.

“Open it,” Michael commanded, aiming his sword between the demon's eyes.

“She'll kill me,” the demon squealed.

“I will kill you sooner if you don't open it.”

The demon gulped, nodding slightly. He opened the latch and as soon as the door gave way, he tried to run away. But Michael didn't let go of him. He put his sword through his head.

“What?” he asked Rafael who looked at him disapprovingly. “He was just a demon. And besides I didn't say I would let him live if he opened it.”

They got inside and were welcomed by about ten another demons – these carried swords and were running straight at them. Michael sneered. He was in the exact mood to have a little fun. And he did. He didn't even break a sweat as he killed them all, one after another, sometimes two at the same time. He turned to his brothers with a grin, cleaning his sword on one of the demon's clothes.

Rafael and Gabriel weren't impressed, they knew their brother and his lust for physical fighting well. But Robin didn't and he gaped.

“Robin,” Michael said. “Take the girl back, out of this place and then go to Father. Tell Him what's happening and request as many angels as He can spare. The rest of us will try to find the prophet.”

Robin wanted to protest – he really wanted to go with them but he knew better than to argue with an archangel, especially with the one holding a sword. The archangels turned and walked swiftly through the corridor, leading God knew where.

Robin sighed. “I guess your part here is over,” he said to Susie and tried to pick her up. But she resisted. She sidestepped him and hit him. She pointed at the long corridor.

“You heard him, we must head back.”

Susie shook her head. How was she to tell him, when she alone didn't know? The moment the angels took off the penthouse, the Order started to change. Nothing was black and white anymore, there was gray everywhere. And Susie simply didn't know everything like she had always known. She didn't know what picture was to come next. There were too many of them now, sliding against each other, competing among themselves. All Susie knew now, was that she must go inside. And Robin too. So she did the unimaginable, again, and took the angel's hand. She dragged him through the long corridor, deep inside.

“Listen, Susie, we really shouldn't go there. We must go to Father.” But at the same time Robin let the girl guide him. Something told him it was the right thing to do. She had led them here, after all. She had found the lair of the former Queen, she had done what all the archangels couldn't have.

*****

Trixie was bored. She realized this wasn't a game, that she was in a bad, bad, situation, but still... she was bored. There was nothing to play with and no-one to talk to.

She remembered the stone she had taken after the huge beast had exploded and reached in her pocket. It was still there. She pulled it out and looked into its depths. There it was – the little, almost invisible spark giving the black stone a dim red glow. It was even a little warm.

Trixie played with it, mesmerized by its beauty. She noticed the boy had stopped rocking and his gaze found the stone as well. She tentatively extended her hand, trying to communicate with the boy somehow. But he didn't move, he only stared.

But the demon moved. Trixie tried to pull back her hand and save her treasure, but the demon grabbed the stone, trying to wrestle it from Trixie's hands. But Trixie held hard determined not to let go. She growled in frustration and that kicked her ability again, her hands glowing with heath. And as her hands glowed brighter still, so did the stone. Something deep within it consumed the energy she offered and in another second the demon started to choke. A small, blueish light ball emerged from his mouth and found its way to the stone, disappearing inside. At the same moment the demon's body fell to the ground, dead. Or Trixie supposed it was dead. He didn't move, his eyes staring unblinking to nowhere. Trixie yelped and dropped her treasure, taking two steps back. Did she do it? Or was it the stone?

She stared at the stone, then at the door, not sure what to do. She didn't know if the demon had a key... What would her mommy do? What would Lucifer do? Well, they wouldn't wait to be rescued, she was sure.

She looked at the stone. Should she take it? Was it safe? What if it would kill her too?

She poked it with her index finger and waited. Nothing happened. She tried it again with the same result. She took a deep breath and decided she would give it a go. She picked it up with a trembling hand, waiting if it would kill her too.

It didn't. It just glowed prettily, a little bit more than before. She pocketed it once again. She then searched all the demon's pockets, but found no key. She tried the door. It was locked. She heaved a deep sigh – so much for her escape plan...

*****

Chloe walked along the long, white corridor. It was empty here. She reached a crossroad and peeked around the corner. Not that empty there – she saw two demons standing on a post. Now she had three options. She could go back and choose a different way (but what was the chance she wouldn't encounter anyone?), she could try and risk to sneak past them to the other hallway, or she could try and fight them. She had a good training as a police officer, the only problem was no-one had ever considered to teach her how to use a sword... She decided option two, in a case of failure option three it would be...

She peeked behind the corner again. The demons didn't seem to pay much attention what was going around them (maybe because there was nothing going around them?), they were just staring straight ahead, at each other. Chloe took a deep breath and moved swiftly through the crossroad. She stopped on the other side, sword ready and listened. There seemed to be no movement. She continued her journey to God knew where.

She got to another crossroad but this time she wasn't lucky. There were four demons patrolling in the next corridor, this one quite short, ending with a wall – that was weird. The demons spotted her the moment she peeked behind the corner. They darted at her at full speed. Chloe even didn't have time to think about running, she just prepared her sword and avoiding the first demon's attempt to impale her she managed to fend off the next one and in one smooth motion stick the pointy end into the third one. It wasn't a good strategy though, for now she had two demons behind her back, one still in front of her. She knew she was a dead woman... The knowledge gave her a sense of peace though and she knew she had nothing to loose now. She parried the demon in front of her, and managed to cut him deep. She got behind him, all the demons now in front of her again, ready to attack. But only two of them did that, she watched the third being stabbed with a sword, its sharp end protruding from his belly. And as the body fell down, it revealed Robin's sweating face.

The two remaining demons noticed their comrade's passing and turned to Robin in surprise. Chloe took advantage of their distraction and killed the one closer to her quickly. In other circumstances she would have considered stabbing a man in his back cowardly, but this was a matter of surviving, honor be damned. They took care of the last demon with ease.

“Hi, Chloe,” Robin said with a small smile, breathing heavily.

Chloe gasped and hugged him briefly, leaving the young angel blushing and disgusted at the same time. He had just been hugged by a hot woman covered in someone's entrails. “Thank God,” she breathed.

“Actually He has nothing to do with it this time,” Robin replied and looked behind his back. Chloe followed his gaze and her chin fell. There stood a small girl in a nightdress with a teddy bear over her clothing, long blond hair obscuring her face – she looked like something from a horror movie.

“Susie? How...? What...?” Chloe stammered.

“It's a long story. In a short – she is some kind of a seer thanks to being Rafael's daughter.”

“Her TOO?” Chloe exclaimed.

“What? You've known about Rafael's children?”

Chloe shrugged. “Only about Patrick and Andy. Lucifer and I figured it out.”

Robin waved his arms in exasperation. “Why everybody always knows more than I do?!”

“A curse of being the youngest son, I guess.”

“Yeah... anyway she helped us to find this place.”

“Us?”

“The archangels are here too.”

Chloe frowned disapprovingly. “You split up?”

Robin shifted his weight, looking ridiculously guilty. “Not really. Michael told me to go to Heaven, but... well... Susie insisted we take another direction...”

“You disobeyed your brother?”

“Yeah... I've probably spent too much time with Lucifer.”

Chloe snorted. “Probably. Listen, we have to find Lucifer. And Trixie. Trixie first. Lucifer can take care of himself,” she looked at Susie imploringly. “Can you take us to her?”

But Susie was already moving, past Robin and then Chloe, straight to the wall at the end of the hallway. She hit it with her fist three times and moved aside. Robin already knew what that meant. He was learning the meanings of her moves quickly. She didn't talk, but she did communicate. He used all his angelic strength and punched the wall several times. There was a click and a secret door opened. There wasn't even a room behind it, there was just a small space with seven hooks. From each hung a huge key with a tag fasten to it.

“What are these?” Chloe asked in wonder and stepped closer. She wanted to take one but Susie was faster. She got on her tiptoes and grabbed one tagged 'the mines'. She then turned on her heel and marched out of the corridor.

Chloe and Robin looked at each other. “I have no idea, what she's doing,” Robin admitted, “but I trust her.” So after Chloe had grabbed the remaining keys (just to be sure) they hurried after the girl.

Susie knew. Finally. All the gray that had enveloped the Order was now dissipating, turning once again into blacks and whites, making everything so much clearer. And Susie knew what was to happen next. She was the one doing it.

She found the right wall, the one that separated the plains of Heaven from this notplace, and she inserted the key in it. She turned twice to right and once to left and stepped aside.

Chloe watched in amazement as a huge gate appeared in the white wall. On the other side she saw black and gray ground. And it was snowing there. But the flakes weren't white, they were gray and she realized it wasn't snow, it was ash floating in the air. Chloe didn't dare to voice what she was looking at, although deep down she knew.

A human shape appeared in the line of their vision, approaching the gate in long sure strides. Robin and Chloe took a step back, their swords ready. But as the shape passed the gate, Chloe relaxed. “Maze?”

The demon/ninja/bartender looked a little bit baffled. “What are you doing here? And where's Lucifer?”

Robin and Chloe briefed her quickly about their situation.

Chloe swore Maze's eyes lit with fire when she told her Amenadiel had betrayed them.

“Are you sure he's not working undercover?” Maze tried.

Chloe bit her lip. She didn't know what was between the two of them but it seemed to be serious. “Quite sure.” She was anticipating Maze's rage but the demon only gritted her teeth and steeled her features.

“Let's get to work,” Maze announced. “We've already wasted too much time with a small talk.” She put two fingers in her mouth and whistled. A barking sounded on the other side of the gate and in a second dog like shapes were emerging from the gate.

Chloe gasped and jumped away. There were twelve of the biggest hounds she had ever seen, reaching to the level of her breasts. They were all black with blazing red eyes and ragged coats. Their yellow teeth were bared, their mouths drooling with saliva, tails waggling in anticipation. In other words they weren't dogs one wanted to pat.

One of them found its way to Chloe, sniffing her like she was its lunch.

“Nero!” Maze boomed. “Heel!”

The hound obeyed immediately.

“Don't worry about them, Decker. They are trained to catch the escaped souls from Hell and return them to their rightful place. Nero was just checking you're not one of them.”

“OK,” Chloe said in small voice. “Are they really necessary?”

Maze grinned. “They're gonna help us to catch all the treacherous demons.”

“I'd rather find my daughter.”

“And we will,” Maze said. “But it will be much easier if the demons are otherwise occupied. Don't worry about the hounds, they're very well trained and obeyed no-one but me and Lucifer. It was his idea to bring them, anyway.”

“OK, then,” Chloe agreed, still not sounding happy though. Maze watched with a smirk as Chloe changed her opinion after she told her it had been Lucifer's idea. “Wait, Lucifer planned this? To open a gate to Hell?”

“Sure, I'm his back up plan,” Maze clarified, sounding offended Chloe was surprised Lucifer had another plan. “Guess you managed to open a gate before he did.”

“Well, he doesn't have a key, I think. There was none missing in that... closet...”

Maze pulled the key out of the wall, closing the gate. She eyed the key suspiciously. She was even more surprised when Chloe presented her with six others. She herself had one like that, opening a gate straight to the Hell's palace. But she didn't know what had happen to the rest of them. Until now...

“Lucifer doesn't need a key to open a gate to Hell,” she clarified. “He has wings. His feathers can open all the gates of Hell. And since he hasn't done it yet, maybe we're early...” Maze thought for a moment and then shrugged. “Better early than late. Where are we by the way?”

“Some place Zadkiel created, just next to the Heaven's Gate,” Robin replied.

Maze's eyes brightened. “Edge of Heaven? Never thought I'd see that...” Maze whistled and all the hounds started to run down the hallway, barking loudly. “Let's go find Trixie,” she commanded and drew her knives.

Chloe and Robin looked at Susie who was standing quietly near the wall. She turned then and started to march the opposite direction the hounds had ran. Maze, Chloe and Robin followed her.

*****

“What is going ON?!” the Queen yelled, crimson with rage. The demons in her bedroom cowered before her, pleading with their eyes to be spared.

“It looks like we're under attack,” Zadkiel hissed. “They must have found us.”

“HOW?!” the Queen demanded. “You said it was untraceable.”

“It IS! I don't know how they did it.”

Amenadiel walked in the room. “A demon confirmed it. It's the archangels. All of them.”

The Queen gritted her teeth.

“Mother,” Amenadiel said, “we must flee.”

“NO!” the Queen spat. “I don't run from a battlefield.”

Amenadiel and Zadkiel looked at each other. “Mother,” Zadkiel tried. “They are archangels. We cannot fight them. Not all of them.”

“They are my sons. They're not stronger than I am! They will never defeat me.”

“Maybe not,” Amenadiel agreed. “But they will defeat all of us. And maybe they will capture you and bring you to Father.”

The Queen screamed. She so hated to not be in control. “Fine. Get the girl and get the keys. We're leaving.”

“She won't survive in Hell,” Amenadiel opposed.

“I don't need her body, just her soul. Now go!”

Zadkiel looked at Amenadiel. He could tell his brother wasn't happy with the prospect of Trixie dying. “You get the keys, I'll get the girl.”

*****

The room was too hot. The heat rising from the pit was overwhelming. Lucifer was sweating profoundly. It was so disgusting. He felt all sticky and he smelled. He didn't know how the demons could stand it. There was about twenty of them watching him.

He hadn't made a single bar yet... and Chloe's time was running out. He was about to open the locket and use its power on the pit, somehow, but he hesitated. This was the only weapon powerful enough to kill or capture his Mother. Was he really going to waste it on this? He was almost sure the cage wouldn't hold his Father. And when the time came and the cage failed, what would happen then? Would Father kill Mother? And him? What would happen to Chloe and Beatrice?

And what if by some miracle the cage worked? Then what? Mother would claim the throne and her merciless reign would begin... Would she destroy the mankind like she had always wanted or would she let them be like she had told him? Lucifer wanted to believe she wouldn't destroy them but he simply couldn't. Maybe she would let them be for a few centuries, maybe even millenniums, but eventually, he was sure, the humans would do something she would deem unacceptable and she would wipe them out, bodies and souls.

Lucifer wiped his forehead with the back of his hand. He needed to make a decision, NOW. He wished he had someone to help him with that. Someone like Chloe. Who liked working with him. Who liked him. And now maybe feared him. And maybe not. But it didn't matter. Not now. So what would she do? What would she tell him to do?

Well, as he knew her, she would put needs of others before her own. Especially if 'others' meant all humans. She was a disturbingly good person. In her silly mind she would think the lives of all humans were more important than hers. He of course would disagree.

What would she feel if all the humans ceased to exist except for her and Trixie? She certainly wouldn't thank him, no. She would... hate him...

Lucifer laughed humorlessly. It seemed that whatever he was to do, he was most likely going to loose. Either he would do as Mother wished and Chloe would hate him for mankind's suffering, or he would fight his Mother and regardless the outcome he wouldn't get to Chloe in time to safe her from execution. And he thought Hell was a wicked place...

There was a commotion behind the door, dozens of footsteps echoed for quite some time, sounding like demons were running somewhere. Lucifer frowned. Demons usually didn't run when there was no need... so there WAS a need. Something was going on. He took a deep breath and clutched his fist around the locket. He looked up, just out of habit since he was practically on the Heaven's level, and hissed: “I just want you to know, I'm not doing this for you, you bloody bastard. And I promise you, if Chloe or Beatrice dies, I will get to you and finish you myself. So, if you have something to tell me, now is the time!”

 _It would work_ , sounded in Lucifer's head. Lucifer jumped, surprised. It was a very long time since he had heard his Father that he almost didn't recognize his voice.

“What?”

_The cage. It would work. It would have the power to hold me._

Lucifer blinked. Was his mind broken somehow or was Father drunk? “Why are you telling me this? Shouldn't you tell me not to build it?”

_I'm just giving you the information you need to make a valid decision, son._

“Right,” Lucifer drawled. “Are you trying to manipulate me into doing what you want?”

_No. I want you to do what you think is right._

Lucifer sighed. “Bloody hell, the right and wrong again! Can you at least be more helpful and tell me where Chloe and Beatrice are?”

_I'm afraid I cannot do that. From my point of view, you are all at the exact same spot and nowhere at the same time._

“Of course we are,” Lucifer heaved a sigh.

_But I can tell you they are alright. At least for now._

“How about you convince Zadkiel and Amenadiel to change the sides back, hm?”

_I tried. They cut me off._

“Great,” Lucifer breathed. “Can you at least tell me, what the locket does?”

_It makes celestial beings powerless._

Lucifer rolled his eyes. The conversations with his Father hadn't changed. They were still too bloody exasperating... “Like talking to bloody Master Yoda.”

Lucifer noticed then all the demons in the room were looking at him funny. He supposed they thought he had been talking to himself.

“Is everything all right, Lightbringer?” one of them asked with some remnants of reverence.

Lucifer smirked. “No, but I'll make it better.” He pocketed the locket then and made a nice small star in each of his hands. The demons widened their eyes but that was all they managed to do before Lucifer fried them to dust. He walked out of the room and headed to the Mother's bedroom slash throne room.

*****

Zadkiel took several demons with him. Just to be sure. He unlocked the door of the holding room and stopped short. The demon guarding the children was lying on the floor, looking very dead. Zadkiel looked at the girl and then at the boy. How did they manage to kill a demon? “What did you do?” he asked.

Trixie gulped. “It was an accident. We were playing and he... fell.” It was a truth – not the whole truth but...

Zadkiel narrowed his eyes. A prophet wasn't supposed to have any killing powers. But the nephilim on the other way... He knew it had been a bad idea to keep him alive. But Mother had insisted. She wanted to know what powers he had and if they could use them to their advantage. Given the recent development Zadkiel felt the boy long overstayed his welcome here. He grabbed Trixie, not too gently and told two demons who had come with him: “Kill the boy.”

“No!” Trixie shrieked and tried to fight him, but couldn't. Zadkiel turned back to the Mother's bedroom, but stopped. There was one more person he knew they needed. He handed Trixie to the rest of the demons from his group and told them to take her to the Queen. He turned and started to walk to the cell where Chloe Decker was held. He knew they needed Lucifer's power to safe them in the future. And they needed Chloe Decker to control him.

A horn sounded in a distance, making the walls shake slightly. Zadkiel gritted his teeth and picked up his pace.

*****

Susie stopped just in front of a crossroad. She waited... one, two, three... seven seconds, then she heard a horn and she knew it was time. She turned to the corridor on her left and did something very uncomfortable – she ran.

Robin, Chloe and Maze ran after her. Susie stopped in front of an open door. When the trio looked inside, they saw two demons fighting each other in a fit of rage, one demon dead on the floor and a small boy with a bloody gush on his forearm sitting in a corner and rocking furiously back-and-forth.

“Andy!” Chloe yelled, not believing her eyes. He was still alive! Maze didn't have a clue who the boy was, but she didn't really care. All she cared about were the demons she could kill. And she did that in a record time. They were so consumed by each other they didn't even notice her.

Chloe walked to Andy. “Hi. I'm Chloe. I'm here to help. Will you come with us?” The boy didn't react in any way.

“I think we'll just have to take him with us,” Robin said and was about to pick the boy up but someone tugged his shirt from behind. It was Susie, shaking her head. Robin stepped away with his hands in the air, understanding he wasn't suppose to touch the boy.

Susie stared at her half brother just a moment. Of course she knew he was her brother. Just like she knew Patrick had been her half brother. She thought for a moment. Technically it wasn't night in this place, so she didn't have to wear her nightdress. She took it off and grabbed one end of it, offering the other to her brother. Andy took it hesitantly and stood up on shaky legs.

Chloe wet her lips. “Andy? Have you seen a little girl? Trixie? She's eight with black hair.”

There was a silence and Chloe thought he wouldn't answer, but he did: “The bad man took her.”

“Which man?”

Andy shrugged, looking at the nightdress connecting him to the weird girl. She was like him, he could tell.

“We'll find her,” Robin reassured her and looked at Susie. But the girl didn't move.

“Susie?” Chloe urged. But Susie was done. The Order had finally established itself into a new pattern, one she saw wasn't leading to its destruction. There was no need and no right for her to interfere with it anymore. So she only pointed at the door. They all turned. And the moment they did, they froze. Amenadiel was standing there.

*****

Amenadiel found the closet with the keys to Hell open and the keys missing. Which meant only one thing – there was no escape for them. What surprised him though was the peace that engulfed him. He had reconciled himself with the thought of Mother as a ruler, Father as a prisoner and even with the fact that some of his brothers would die in the war. But he hadn't reconciled himself with the death of Beatrice Decker. Human children weren't suppose to suffer or die. Prophets or not. It went against everything he had been taught to be right. And he had been promised that Trixie would live. And now they wanted to drag her to Hell? Well, they couldn't now having no keys, could they?

He was at a loss what to do next. He knew Father would never forgive him. His only chance was to stay with his Mother. And hide. Somewhere. But first he had to make sure Mother wouldn't hurt the girl. So he ran to Trixie's cell, hoping he would catch Zadkiel before would take her.

He didn't. Trixie nor Zadkiel was there. But there was someone else.

“Maze?” Amenadiel breathed, not knowing what to say next.

Maze bared her teeth. “Lover,” she spat sardonically.

“Where is my child!” Chloe yelled, gripping her sword tightly.

“Zadkiel has taken her to the Mother's room. They want to escape to Hell.”

Maze smirked. “I guess they'll be needing this?” She showed him the keys she had on her person.

Amenadiel saw his opportunity. “I don't want to fight you.”

Maze scoffed. “Of course you don't.”

“Let's make a deal. You will give me the keys and I'll help you get Beatrice.”

“You don't really expect us to fall for that, do you?” Robin asked, sounding offended.

“I mean it, brother. Believe it or not, I've never signed to hurt Beatrice. Or Chloe. I did it so we could be together,” he said the last to Maze.

“I don't believe you,” Chloe said while Maze snorted with disdain.

Amenadiel bowed his head. “Well, it doesn't matter whether you believe me or not. But I still need the keys.”

“Then come and take them,” Maze prodded with a ferocious smile. But before Amenadiel could make a step, Maze charged at him in full speed, slamming his body to the opposite wall.

“Go!” Maze called over her shoulder, “I'll take care of this!”

Robin looked at Chloe with an unspoken question, but Chloe had already decided to do what Maze had said. She grabbed the nightdress connecting the children in the middle and dragged them behind her like two puppies on the leash. “OK, I think I may remember the way to the Queen's room,” she told Robin who followed at the rear.

“You know, you can't beat me!” Amenadiel yelled. “I'm an angel!”

Maze smirked, but it was halfhearted. “Maybe so, but I can certainly delay you.” And she drew her knives and attacked him, her moves swift and precise. Amenadiel managed to block all of them, and with a punch sent Maze flying several feet down the hallway.

“Why do you always have to side with HIM?!” he yelled, anger written all over his face.

Maze got up and laughed. “So this is what's about? You're jealous?!”

“You said you would leave him. You said we would be together...”

“... and I meant it!”

“... and yet here you are, still doing his bidding. You lied to me! You were never going to stop serving him!”

“I told you, this Mother business was the last thing I was helping him with.”

“Until something else will appear, you mean!” Ameandiel grabbed her and slammed her to the wall, holding her much lighter body pinned there with ease.

“NO,” Maze hissed through her teeth. “And if you don't believe me, then there is no point in having this conversation. You can just kill me and be done with me. It's what your Mother will command you to do anyway. And you are her servant now, aren't you?”

Amenadiel took several deep breaths. “I only joined her so we could be together. So-”

“You could get rid of Lucifer?” Maze supplied.

Amenadiel shook his head. “Don't you see? Every one – all of my brothers, my Father – is against us. Angel and a demon – that never could be, not in their world. But it doesn't really matter, does it? Because you're against it too. You've never loved me.”

Maze scoffed, tears coming to her eyes. “If that was true, you'd already be dead.”

Amenadiel frowned and looked down. Sure there was one of the Maze's knives slightly pressing to his abdomen, ready to gut him like a fish. He looked back at her, his eyes sad and full of pain. “Do it.”

Maze just stared at him.

“I said DO IT!” Amenadiel yelled.

Maze shook her head. Amenadiel grabbed her wrist, trying to force her hand, but Maze dropped the knife before it could penetrate Amenadiel's clothes.

Amenadiel shook Maze in exasperation, tightening his grip on her.

“What are you going to do with me now?” Maze asked.

Amenadiel knew what he was supposed to do with her. He was supposed to kill her or capture her. But the problem was he didn't like any of these options. Not a bit.

“Be a good son and do what you've been told to do,” Maze prodded.

Amenadiel gritted his teeth. “I'm not a good son and I do as I please!” he yelled.

Maze laughed loudly at that. She knew it would only spurred him to misbehave and that was what she wanted.

Amenadiel slammed his mouth to hers, just to stop her from laughing. It wasn't exactly a kiss. It was something violent, something primal, coming from Amenadiel's guts. It was claiming his possession. He waited for Maze to start to fight him, but he waited in vain. Maze grabbed his head and deepened the kiss, bruising his lips.

It was a fight of some sort. For dominance. Or maybe for something else. Maze wasn't sure this fight was going to have a winner and a looser... but she didn't really care – she didn't always fight to win, sometimes she fought because it was fun or because there was nothing else to do...

*****

“By Father's chin, is that a Hell hound?!” Gabriel shrieked when a massive black beast passed Rafael by several inches, and killed a demon who had been leading the two archangels to Trixie's cell.

“I think so,” Rafael answered. “Now what?” he asked and pointed at their dead guide whose soul was currently being sucked out by the ugly animal.

“Well, it can't be much further,” Gabriel guessed. “Let's continue this way and find a new demon to guide us.”

“It won't be that easy,” Rafael pointed out. There were other two demons running towards them, another hound at their heels.

“How did they even get here?”

Rafael shrugged. “I bet even Father doesn't know.”

“You think we should kill them?” Gabriel asked, putting his horn to his lips one more time. He wondered if the Hell hounds' skulls would explode as easily as the demons' had.

“Don't,” Rafael stopped him. “They are actually helping. Mostly.”

Gabriel heaved a sigh. “Yeah.”

They continued to walk the long corridor, passing dead demons. It almost seemed there was no-one left alive.

“I still have a bad feeling about Michael,” Gabriel admitted. “We shouldn't have let him go alone.”

“He can take care of himself. Although I have no idea how he plans to kill Mother.”

Gabriel scoffed. “That's not what I worry about. You saw him. He's probably going to turn this place into another Sodom.”

“Does it matter? If he won't do that, the hounds will.”

They turned another corner and came to a stop, both blinking, not believing their eyes. Amenadiel was doing... something... with Lucifer's demon.

“Are they... eh...” Gabriel stammered, tilting his head to see better.

“Having sex? Having intercourse? Coitus? Fornicating?” Rafael offered.

“Thank you for enlightening me!” Gabriel yelled. “I wouldn't have figured it out without you.”

“Experience,” Rafael clarified. “Been there, done that,” he added with a dreamy smile.

Gabriel grimaced. “Should we head that way then,” he pointed to an empty corridor.

“What? No!” Rafael said. “Let's ask them what they know,” and he started to walk to the pair oblivious to everything but each other. They were currently sliding down the wall and tearing each others clothes. Rafael picked up his pace to avoid seeing too much of them.

“Excuse me!” he yelled.

Amenadiel lifted his head, blinking at his brother, slightly disoriented. He picked himself from Maze and stood tall. The demon followed him.

Rafael and Gabriel looked at the disheveled pair, then at each other.

“Just to be clear,” Gabriel said, “are you with us or against us?”

“I'm with Lucifer,” Maze stated, earning a grunt from Amenadiel. “And this one,” she pointed at her lover, “is with me.”

“In that case...” Gabriel stopped, not knowing what to say next.

“We're looking for Beatrice,” Rafael supplied.

“She's in the throne room with the Queen,” Amenadiel answered. “Robin and Chloe went after her.”

The archangels looked suspiciously at their brother.

“He's telling the truth,” Maze assured them.

“Michael went after Mother. I guess we better head there too,” Gabriel suggested. “I mean if you have finished fornicating?”

“We haven't,” Maze said, “but we can always finish later.”

Amenadiel turned to lead the way. When he was passing Gabriel, the archangel said: “We WILL deal with you. Later. You know Father won't let this treachery just go, right?”

Amenadiel didn't stop, only nod his head. He knew he was screwed, anyway. He knew he couldn't redeem himself in his Father's eyes, all he could do was redeem himself in Maze's eyes. And his own...

*****

Lucifer was walking through the long, deserted corridor leading to his Mother's room when he heard a horn in a distance. He smiled. And then he heard barking, one he knew well. And he smiled even more. He put two fingers in his mouth and whistled. And surely, soon enough three hounds appeared in the corridor he was marching through, waggling their tails. He had no idea how Maze had got here on her own, but he was so glad. “Ivan, Vlad, good boys,” he patted the hounds with affection. “Oh, you too, Attila.”

“Did you really name them after the human leaders?”

Lucifer jumped in surprise seeing his brother Michael covered in blood, marching straight to him. “Nice of you to come and join the battle, brother,” Lucifer drawled. “And I didn't name them after the leaders, it's them. Well their souls in new bodies, actually.”

Michael stopped and eyed the hounds. “What?”

“Who better to catch the escapees from Hell than the souls of once blood lust mass murderers? After the centuries of torture there wasn't much of them left, anyway. Now, how did you get here and have you rescued Chloe and Beatrice?”

“We had an unexpected help from a certain seer.”

“Oh?”

“Rafael and Gabriel are after Beatrice. I'm going to capture Mother.”

Lucifer laughed. “And how are you planning to do that?”

“With your help, of course.”

“And the detective?”

“Well, brothers will surely retrieve her as well,” Michael said.

“Surely?”

“After Mother's captured, your detective will be safe, won't she? So are you coming with me?” Michael asked eying Lucifer's strange chain outfit.

“Kerberos's chain,” Lucifer tugged at the cursed thing winding around his torso. “Trust me, I tried to get rid of it, but nothing ca-”

Before he could have finished the sentence, Michael's sword swished through the air and cut the chain, missing Lucifer's skin by half an inch.

Lucifer touched his chest and neck, searching for blood, but found none.

“You were saying?” Michael smirked.

“Well, looks it's sharp enough for some things,” he nodded to Michael's divine sword.

“I hope you still have Father's weapon?”

Lucifer nodded.

“Then lead the way.”

Lucifer didn't need to be asked twice. He spun on his heel and headed to his Mother's room, the hounds and Michael close behind him.

*****

“Stop fidgeting,” the Queen yelled at Trixie who was sitting on a hard chair and was forbidden to even move.

“Where is Amenadiel with the keys?” she yelled at Zadkiel who shrugged, looking nervous as were the two dozen demons in the room. “Then go and find him!”

“Mother, are you sure it's wise to leave you here alone?”

The Queen snorted. “Are you worried for my life or for yours? Besides I'm not alone,” she pointed at the demons.

Zadkiel's cheek twitched. “As you wish,” he grunted and left the room in a hurry.

About half a minute later the other the door to the room exploded and her two most annoying sons appeared, Hell hounds at their heels.

“Luciferrr!” Trixie yelled and tried to jump off the chair and run to him. But she was caught by the Queen before she had a chance to take a step. She grabbed her by her shoulder and held tight, the other hand resting on Trixie's head. The archangels stopped dead. Lucifer tensed. Trixie wasn't supposed to be here... He knew Mother could kill her in a second with that hand on her head.

“Lucifer!” the Queen screamed. “I thought we had an agreement!”

“Yes, we did. I've changed my mind,” he informed her, trying to suppress the guilt at breaking his word, focusing on the child. “Now, you let Beatrice go and-”

The Queen burst with laughter. “My only shield? How naïve do you think I am?”

“Mother,” Michael said, all calm, “there is nothing to gain by keeping the child.”

“Isn't there?” the Queen smiled. “As I see it, as long as I have her, you won't try anything. She's the prophet, after all.”

“That's where you're wrong,” Micheal replied. “It would be bad to loose a prophet, it's true. But it would be worse to let you go. Father can make another prophet, if He's so inclined.”

Lucifer's eyes grew round, turning red.

The Queen laughed again, this time a little insecure. “You see, Lucifer, what your brother's like?”

Michael looked at Lucifer with cold eyes, seeing his brother's rage was quickly rising. “Remember the lesson I gave you the last time we fought?”

Lucifer blinked. He tried to focus on Michael's words. What was that? _Discipline is what makes a winner?_ Was he trying to tell him something Mother wouldn't understand? He tried to contain his temper. He turned back to his Mother. “Mother, we seem to be at a dead end here. Michael's right. We can't let you leave. And I would much prefer if you wouldn't kill Beatrice. Release her and we will speak to Father about your punishment. We would ask Him to be lenient.”

Michael nodded his agreement.

“You are bluffing. You would never risk the life of the prophet. I have another proposition. You will give me the locket and a key to Hell and then I'll let the girl go.”

Lucifer's eyes burned again and this time he noticed something strange. Something glowed in Trixie's pocket. Trixie must have felt it, because she reached there and fished out a small stone. A black stone with a dim red glow. Lucifer recognized it immediately. It was Kerberos's core. The still dying star. It seemed to thrive in Trixie's hand. And why shouldn't it? Trixie was trembling now, with fear he was sure, but it made her hands burn with heat. The same heat he possessed, the energy making the stars grow. No-one paid attention to the little girl, all focused on the archangels, and Lucifer decided to take advantage of it.

“I agree,” Lucifer said and reached into his pocket for the locket and presented it to his Mother on an open palm. “I'll give you the locket and I'll open a gate to Hell for you. And then you will let Beatrice go.”

“NO,” Micheal said.

“I'm just following your lesson, brother. Have a little faith in me,” Lucifer snapped. Michael frowned but did nothing.

Lucifer turned back to his Mother. “After all I don't want you to end like Melisa in the zoo,” he said and winked at Beatrice, hoping she would catch his meaning. “Or worse, with a stone lodged in your chest.”

Trixie's eyes widened comically. Oh, now she understood.

“What are you babbling, son?” But at the moment Lucifer threw the locket at his Mother. She let go of Beatrice to catch it. And the moment she did, the girl swirled around and hit the Queen between her breasts with the stone. It bounced off her and fell to the ground. Trixie gulped. She felt someone landing behind her and when she turned her head, she saw it was Lucifer. His wings curled around her like another skin.

“Game over, Mom,” Lucifer whispered.

“What?!” the Queen yelled and eyed the weird stone laying on the ground innocently. She was about to grab Lucifer, but she started to choke and something blue and small emerged from her lips. She actually tried to catch it with her hand, but was too slow. It spiraled down and was sucked in the stone. And in that moment the Queen fell to the ground, dead.

The demons panicked and started to run to the doors. Lucifer finished any demon who neared them quickly. True, they only did it to escape Michael and the hounds who were butchering them mercilessly. It was over very soon and Lucifer uncovered Trixie who had glued herself to his hip. He looked down at her, hating he had made her kill his Mother.

“Is she dead?” Trixie asked in a small voice.

“Yes,” Lucifer confirmed. “Her body is dead. Her soul is imprisoned in the stone.”

Trixie bit her lip. “Are you sad?” she asked.

Lucifer scoffed. “No. I'm glad. Now she can't hurt you anymore. I...” he hesitated for a moment, “she deserved that. There's no need for you to... feel bad.”

Trixie blinked. She wasn't feeling bad. She was feeling exhausted. She turned and kicked the Queen's torso just to let everyone know how she felt about it all.

“That's my girl!” Lucifer exclaimed and laughed heartily. Trixie beamed and hugged him again. He hugged her back, petting her head.

Michael lifted his eyebrows questioningly.

“What?” Lucifer asked. “I did help to create her.”

“Wow, aren't you the dad of the year?” he drawled.

Lucifer rolled his eyes. He bent and picked up the locket and the stone. He offered the stone to Michael. “One crazy Mother to return to Hell as requested.”

Michael only rolled his eyes again and took the stone. “And the locket?”

“Father sent it to me, didn't he? Now, let's go find Chloe and let's get them out of here. We can return for the traitors later.”

Michael didn't comment and followed his brother.

*****

Chloe was almost running. She walked as fast as the children were capable of. She needed to get to Trixie soon. She felt her head spin for the third time in a few minutes and had to stop to catch her breath.

“Are you OK?” Robin asked, worried.

“I'm fine, just give me a minute.” She put her hand to her face feeling something on her lip. When she looked at her hand she saw there was blood on her fingers.

“Holly shit!” Robin exclaimed and reached into his pocket for a handkerchief. He gave it to Chloe. “We need to get you out of here.”

Chloe put the piece of white linen to her nose. Who carried these things anymore? “I'm not leaving without Trixie.”

“Of course you aren't,” Robin uttered, knowing very well there was no point in arguing with the woman. “But you should-”

“Watch out!” Chloe yelled and pushed Robin to the side. But she wasn't fast enough and Robin screamed with pain and fell to the ground. A sword was protruding from his belly.

Chloe lifted her own weapon and tried to impale the attacker, but Zadkiel was too fast and strong for her. He caught her wrist and squeezed making Chloe drop her sword. He caught it in his other hand in one smooth movement stepped behind her and pressed the edge to her neck.

Zadkiel knew the battle, no, the war, was over. He hadn't found Amenadiel (not that he had looked too intensely) and he hadn't found the keys to Hell – the hidden closet had been empty. The hallways were full of demon's bodies. Yes, they had lost... He had started to run back to his Mother's room – if there was any chance to escape, his Mother was the best option. But he had met his idiot excuse for a brother with the human bitch and two weird children. He had reconsidered his options – Chloe Decker was a better ticket out of here than his Mother. And he couldn't have gotten to her sooner... The second he pressed his blade to her neck, he saw Lucifer and Michael running his way, the prophet squeezed between them. And just to get things worse, Gabriel with Rafael appeared on the other side of the corridor, followed by Amenadiel and Mazikeen.

“You stop where you are, or I'll slice her lovely throat!”

The archangels stopped, but still they were blocking both ways.

“If you hurt her,” Lucifer hissed, “I will build a special section in Hell just for you.”

“It's over, Zadkiel,” Michael yelled. “Mother is dead. Give up and come peacefully.”

Zadkiel laughed, sounding completely crazy. Or desperate.

“There's no place for you to go,” Gabriel joined in.

Zadkiel laughed again. “You are wrong, brother, a place is exactly where I can go.” He concentrated hard and behind him a door appeared. He moved backwards, closing it behind him and the moment he did, the door disappeared again.

“NO!” Lucifer yelled at the same time Trixie screamed. He landed next to the wall Chloe and Zadkiel had disappeared. He banged at it but nothing happened. He created a star and threw it at the wall but it just went through it like there was no wall at all. Lucifer blinked. This wasn't good.

Rafael landed next to Robin and pulled the sword out of him, healing him as fast as he could.

“Lucifer!” Maze yelled and pointed at the end of the hallway. It was slowly retreating, disappearing in front of their eyes.

“Ahh, what do you think will happen when the section we're standing in disappears?” Gabriel asked.

“Good question, brother,” Lucifer said. “But I don't think I want to know the answer!”

“Yeah, me neither,” Rafael agreed and he and Gabriel picked up not completely healed Robin, Lucifer picked up Trixie, Maze and Amenadiel took each one of the nephilims who started to scream the moment they touched them. And all of them started to run from the closing section.

They ran and ran, the corridors falling like dominoes. Soon the hounds joined them, barking like crazy.

“What are we gonna do?” Amenadiel yelled.

“What are you doing here?” Lucifer returned. “Aren't you suppose to be on Mother's side?”

“Not anymore,” Amenadiel replied.

“Really brother, you change sides faster than condoms.”

“What's a condom?” Trixie asked while she watched the hallway shorten.

“Something you should keep in your wallet for emergency.”

“I don't have a wallet,” Trixie complained.

“I'll buy you one,” Lucifer yelled back.

They ran to the exit, or to the spot they remembered was the exit. But it seemed Zadkiel had sealed it as well.

“Now what?” Rafael breathed.

“We could go to Hell,” Maze suggested.

“No,” Lucifer refused. “The kids wouldn't survive that.”

“They will,” Amenadiel said, “if I slow down the time. It will be just a heart beat for them, maybe less.”

Lucifer eyed his brother. He didn't trust him, but they were probably past the point where they could make choices. There weren't any left.

“Fine,” Lucifer growled. Maze took out one of the keys and inserted it to the wall where the exit should be. She turned the key and a gate appeared.

Trixie gulped loudly. “What about mommy?”

“I'll bring her back to you,” Lucifer promised.

“OK.”

“Just close your eyes, biter,” Lucifer said and clutched her to his torso. She obeyed him and he felt her heartbeat stop. Amenadiel nodded and they all stepped through the gate, following the hounds that ran ahead of them, and landed next to the mines of Hell.

As soon as the gate closed, Lucifer yanked out one of his feathers and created another door, leading straight to his penthouse in LUX. They jumped through it, landing in the middle of his apartment. It was daylight, probably early morning.

Trixie blinked, recognizing Lucifer's home. He deposited her on the couch and spread his wings. He was off in a second.

“I better go after him,” Michael murmured.

“I'll go with you,” Gabriel said.

“And Amenadiel,” Michael added. “I'm not letting you out of my sight. Besides it's time you face Father and the consequences of your actions. Rafael, stay here and take care of Robin. And the kids.”

“Wait!” Maze cried, but Amenadiel shook his head. He spread his wings along with his brothers and they flew up to the edge of Heaven.

*****

Chloe tried to fight the horrible angel, but it was pointless. He dragged her through corridors and corridors of his maze and then out of it. They were on some kind of a plain, mist floating around their feet. Everything was bright here, a very blue sky above them. She saw a huge, beautiful golden gate, not so far away from them. She tried to fight him once more, but it seemed she couldn't hurt him at all. Well, he was an angel... And she was so exhausted. Her nose was bleeding, her head was spinning and she was cut at several places, where Zadkiel touched her with the sword.

“Stop struggling, you human bitch,” Zadkiel hissed and tighten his grip on her.

“It's pointless. You lost!” Chloe screamed. “If you kill me, Lucifer will come after you.”

“Lucifer is dead, you fool. I shut the place down. Completely. There was no way out for them. You will never see him again!”

Chloe giggled. “I'm seeing him right now.”

Zadkiel turned his head and almost lost his balance. He really was there, just at the edge, looking more angry than Zadkiel remembered ever seeing him. His eyes were two red fires and in each hand he balanced a star.

“Detective,” Lucifer drawled, not taking his eyes off Zadkiel. “Duck!”

Chloe relaxed all her muscles making a dead weight of her body. It was much more difficult to keep a dead weight in a standing position and though Zadkiel tried, she slid down his torso. Lucifer fired a star at him, but Zadkiel managed to bend in time to avoid it. The star flew past him and hit the Gate. It must have destroyed one of the hinges, because the right part of the Gate started to fall down slowly, and screeching terribly it twisted off the remaining hinge and ended on the misty ground.

Zadkiel's eyes almost popped out: “You destroyed the Gate of Heaven!”

“And now I'm going to destroy you,” Lucifer hissed and threw the second star at him. Zadkiel managed to dodge this one too. He laughed while Lucifer growled in frustration.

Zadkiel grabbed Chloe by her hair and pulled her back to her feet. “Stay back!” he yelled at Lucifer and created another door to nowhere.

“No!” Lucifer yelled. He couldn't throw another star at him, not while he held Chloe as a shield. But there was no way Lucifer was going to let Zadkiel drag his detective someplace else. He remembered the locket in his pocket and fished it out. He threw it at the pair retreating to the new door and then hit it midair with a tiny star, making the locket open and speed up a little. Zadkiel even didn't see it. The locket landed just next to him, its white light emerging and quickly enveloping him, sucking something out of him. But it wasn't his soul, it must have been something else. As soon as it was done, the new space Zadkiel had just created, vanished and it seemed he couldn't make another. But he was still alive. As Father had said – he seemed to be powerless now.

Zadkiel dropped the sword, touching his midriff with both hands. “What have you done to me?!”

Chloe took advantage of her release and spun on her heel, punching Zadkiel with all her remaining strength straight to his nose. And to her surprise he screamed with pain and blood started to flow down his face. Lucifer then joined in, landing just in front of his brother and punching him once more, with a bit more strength than Chloe, sending him to oblivion.

“Chloe!” he cried and caught her as she was about to fall down with exhaustion.

“Trixie?”

“She's fine. As are the others. They are in LUX.”

Chloe nodded, clutching Lucifer's shirt and smiling weakly up at him.

Lucifer frowned. “You look like hell, detective. And coming from me, it means something.”

Chloe smiled, eying his battered face. She put a finger to his cracked lip and caressed it carefully. “You're the one to talk.”

Lucifer gulped. She was giving him that mysterious look again. He yanked out a small feather and placed it on her chest. “Here. It should help a little. Let's get you out of here, OK?”

But Chloe didn't answer. She just closed her eyes and fainted, her body completely exhausted.

Lucifer lifted her in his arms and was about to take off when about fifty angels surrounded him.

“Great, the air force is here,” Lucifer uttered.

“Morningstar!” a huge, dark angel in a full armor yelled.

“Ezekiel,” Lucifer exclaimed. “Long time no fight! What do you say we skip the fighting part and I'll just leave and never come back?”

The angel took a step closer to him, but was stopped by Michael's voice. “It's alright. He's with us.” Michael, Gabriel and Amenadiel folded their wings as they landed.

Ezekiel lifted a brow. “He is to come with us now. As is Zadkiel and Amenadiel.”

Amenadiel looked at his brothers but didn't protest. Zadkiel didn't protest either, because he was unconscious.

“Go where?” Michael demanded.

“To Father. His own orders.”

Lucifer looked at Michael and Gabriel. He wasn't fool enough to think he could escape this. “The detective,” he pleaded.

“I'll take her down,” Gabriel offered. Lucifer surrendered his precious human to the arms of his brother.

“Make sure Rafael heals her properly. No shortcuts or scars. I'll check later,” he added with a little smile.

Gabriel nodded. “You have my word.” He took off then, leaving Lucifer feeling strangely alone among the fifty of his siblings. He felt two pairs of hands wind around his arms and lead him to the broken Gate of Heaven. To the one place Lucifer had thought he would never see again.


	16. Conversations with God

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lucifer has a talk with his Dad. And he's not the only one.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was supposed to be the last chapter but as it turned out I have still some things to solve and say. So there will be one more chapter after this one. Sorry...

Chloe heard voices around her. First she couldn't tell what they were saying, but now they were getting clearer. She recognized Gabriel's voice: “You sure you did it alright?”

And then Rafael's: “Yes! Stop asking.”

“She looks different.”

“What do you want me to do? Strip her to check?”

“Don't do that, please,” Chloe whispered and opened her eyes slowly. A sharp light of an early morning blinded her.

“Mommy!” Trixie jumped at her and kissed her soundly.

“Ohh, honey,” Chloe sighed and hugged her daughter. She looked at her properly. “Are you alright, monkey?”

“Yes.” Trixie smiled.

“Oh, I'm so glad. I love you so MUCH!” Trixie giggled while Chloe hugged her again. She sat slowly, taking in her surroundings. She was in Lucifer's penthouse, on his couch to be precise. Rafael and Gabriel stood next to her. Maze was leaning against the wall next to the broken shelving of Lucifer's alcohol supply, seeping a drink. Robin was sprawled on an armchair, snoring softly and Susie and Andy sat on the ground, Susie playing with cards and Andy absorbed in a book.

“Where is Lucifer?”

Gabriel smiled, making Chloe nervous. “Father wanted to talk to him.”

“Father?” Chloe repeated, eyes growing wide. “Like... God?”

Gabriel nodded.

“But why? He didn't do anything wrong, did he?”

“Well, I guess blowing up the Gate of Heaven was an accident, so... maybe He has another job for him?”

“You don't know!” Chloe exclaimed.

Rafael and Gabriel shook their heads.

“But don't worry,” Rafael soothed. “Father wouldn't do anything... too bad to him.”

Chloe gaped. “Oh, thank you so much for reassurance.”

“He probably just want to have a son-father talk,” Gabriel added. “I'm sure, Lucifer will be back soon. He's still Trixie's guardian angel after all.” The child beamed at him.

“Hm,” Chloe murmured, not happy with the answer. “What now?”

Gabriel shrugged. “I guess, we'll just take you home...”

“Yeah.” Chloe smiled. “Andy's mother will be so happy.”

Gabriel and Rafael looked at each other.

“What?” Chloe asked.

Gabriel coughed. “It's not... allowed to... let nephilim walk the Earth.”

Chloe jumped off the couch, her head spinning. “What?!”

“They are abominations,” Gabriel whispered.

“Really?!” Chloe yelled, not believing her ears. “You realize this... abomination,” she pointed her finger at Susie, “has just saved your sorry asses? And God's too?”

“What would you expect?” Maze sneered. “They're good, holy angels. They don't make mistakes. And if they do, they clean them up quietly.”

“Whaaa-!” Robin woke up with a start. “Ahh Chloe... what?”

“They want to...” she couldn't even say it, not in front of the children. So she indicated the children with her hand. And Robin understood.

“Oi, you don't really want to...”

“No we don't,” Gabriel said, while Rafael kept his head bowed. “But... there's nothing else to do. It's Father's law.”

“Screw the law!” Robin yelled.

Gabriel snorted. “You spent too much time with Lucifer.”

“No, I mean it,” Robin insisted. “Nobody knows about them. Well, except for us. And they haven't hurt anyone.”

“Yet,” Gabriel added. “And Michael knows. If we don't do it, Michael will.”

“So, you're just afraid of Michael?” Chloe prodded.

“I'm not afraid of Michael!” Gabriel opposed. “It's just... they're dangerous.”

“Like every other human,” Chloe said. “And like every other human they're presumed innocent until they're proved guilty. It's the law of this country. And as long as you're here, you have to follow it.”

“We answer to higher authority than that,” Gabriel snapped. “And they'll be fine in Hell. It's not like they will cease to exist. They'll just transform...”

Chloe glared at the angel. “Are you trying to make up an excuse for a thing there is no excuse for?”

Gabriel took a deep breath but didn't answer.

“You see, they are a result of your sin,” Chloe continued. “Why should THEY pay for it? Why not you?”

“You're right,” Rafael rasped.

Gabriel frowned.

Rafael wet his lips, obviously nervous. “They're innocent. They didn't ask to be created. I made them. And I will take care of them. I will watch over them, guide them and if... IF the time comes... I'll send them to Hell myself.”

“Father won't allow it,” Gabriel whispered, his face troubled.

“You're the messenger of God, right?” Chloe pointed at Gabriel.

“Yes,” Gabriel said with a suspicious frown at the sudden change of topic.

“Good,” Chloe breathed and blurted out before she could loose courage: “I want to send Him a message.”

“What?” Gabriel's frown was replaced by an incredulous smile.

“I want you to deliver Him a message from me,” she enunciated.

“No, no, no, no, it doesn't work like that. You see, I bring messages FROM Him to humans. Not the other way around.”

Chloe glared. She wasn't going to give up. Not when she had something to say. “I'm the mother of the prophet, we were kidnapped by His crazy ex wife and a son with major inferiority complex. Now, maybe this once could you make an exception?”

“You're a hard woman,” Gabriel gave up. “Alright. I'll deliver your message. What is it?”

“Judge everyone only for what they've done, not for what or who they are.”

Gabriel heaved a sigh. “Fine,” he muttered. “It's not my business anyway. They're your children,” he said to Rafael.

Rafael nodded. “I'll take them home.”

“I'll go with you,” Robin jumped off the armchair.

“Afraid I might do something bad?” Rafael asked, offended.

“No, I'm just afraid they might do something bad to you. You're outnumbered.”

“OK,” Rafael agreed and they gently took the kids and left.

“Shall I take you home?” Gabriel asked.

Chloe smiled. “No, thanks, we'll manage. Just get my message to your Dad.” Gabriel nodded, spread his black wings and left too.

Chloe looked at Maze who was still sipping her drink. “Will you call me when Lucifer returns?”

Maze shrugged, looking sour. “Sure.”

And Chloe remembered. “What happened to Amenadiel?”

Maze bared her teeth. “Don't pretend you care about him.”

“I don't. I mean I don't pretend and I don't care about him. Not after what he's done. BUT... I do care about you and... I know you two were... close.”

Maze snorted. “That's touching. I don't know what they're gonna do to him. Gabriel said they took him to their insufferable Daddy too.”

“OK,” Chloe said, not knowing what else to add. “We better go.” She took Trixie by her hand and walked to the elevator. She didn't know how long she had slept but she was still pretty exhausted. First shower (she was still more or less covered in demon's entrails), then a long sleep. For Trixie too. Oh, and worry for Lucifer. Chloe sighed. It seemed it wasn't over yet.

*****

They marched them through the broken Gate of Heaven. All of them – Lucifer, Amenadiel and Zadkiel, who had managed to get from his unconscious state after several slaps. They marched them like common criminals, Lucifer included. Like he hadn't fought on Father's side... He clenched his teeth and kept quiet. He was too exhausted to argue, his whole body aching, his face dumb with pain and swellings. As soon as the fight had been over a deep exhaustion had replaced his resolve.

And even if he did argue that he was on their side, they wouldn't believe him anyway, so why bother? And Michael was just walking beside them, not saying a word either. And yet one word from him and the angels would let Lucifer go to Father with dignity untouched.

But no, his asshole archangel brother was just walking quietly, frowning over the locket Lucifer had used on Zadkiel. Michael had picked it up from the misty ground and now he was eying it speculatively, glimpsing at Zadkiel from time to time.

They passed the Gate and the green hills welcomed them. It was a beauty Lucifer had long forgotten. There were angels gathering around, watching the procession with interest. Most of them Lucifer knew. They were his brothers and sisters. But some of them he didn't know. They must have been the young ones, the ones Father had created with his new wife. Lucifer wondered briefly what was she like. He hoped she had more sense than his Mother.

The angels gaped or frowned. This was a spectacle for them. And he, apparently, was the main star of this freak show. They all eyed him like some kind of a different species. The old ones with contempt, the young ones with fascination. Well, Lucifer decided not to give them the satisfaction of seeing him defeated. He walked with his head high and his eyes sparkling with glee.

They walked to the palace, the white, enormous structure reflecting light like a beacon. They entered the building and headed straight to the throne room.

Lucifer felt like he had fallen back in time. The memories, buried and forgotten flooded his mind like tsunami. Nothing had changed since he had been here the last time. At least he thought so. All seemed so fuzzy in his brain as it was bombarding him with hundreds of images.

They stopped in a hall in front of the door to the throne room. And all of a sudden Lucifer felt nervous. But it wasn't his turn. Not yet.

“Wait here,” Ezekiel told him. “Zadkiel and Amenadiel first.” Michael, Ezekiel and six guards went in as well. The door closed very quickly behind them.

Lucifer sat on a bench next to the door, drumming his fingers on his thigh while thinking about what Father could want from him. Lucifer had sworn he would do whatever He asked of him, when he had made the deal. So he was basically at his Father's mercy now. Would He send him back to Hell? Or would He send him to Earth to fulfill another task? Or would He let him be Trixie's guardian angel? Would He let his associating with Chloe continue? And what was she doing right now? Was she OK? Had Rafael healed her?

Lucifer leaned his head on the wall, closing his eyes.

*****

After paying double to a taxi driver to even let her and Trixie in his cab, Chloe sighed with relief when she entered her home and found everything just like she had left it. Her mother wasn't around for which Chloe was glad (it would be difficult to explain their filthy exteriors), but she felt also somewhat downcast. She realized she could really use a hug right now. And someone to tell her everything was going to be alright. Even though it was a lie.

“OK, monkey, take off your clothes and throw them straight to the garbage can. Even the Red Cross wouldn't take these.”

Trixie giggled and did as she was asked. She ran to the bathroom and took her time in the shower.

Meanwhile Chloe discarded her own clothes and put on fresh ones. She ordered two pizzas, made a coffee and sat in a chair at her kitchen table, pondering. How long could a talk with God take? And what would happen to Lucifer? Surely God must know Lucifer had been on His side this time. Even though he had agreed to help his Mother... but he had been forced to it. Because, Chloe gulped, he would do anything to protect her. And Trixie, Chloe added in her mind with a smile. Because the silly man/angel/Devil was over his ears in love with her. And he probably even didn't realize that. Well, at least she realized she was in love with him.

Should she tell him? And then what? Ask him out? That seemed so ridiculous after what they had been through. And would he even want that? A long term relationship with her? Because she as hell knew she wouldn't care for one night stand. No, that would be too... painful.

But could it work? An angel and a human? An immortal and a mortal? Wouldn't that be too painful too? For him watching her age and die eventually, for her fearing he would leave her because she would be just too old for him one day? Or worse, not to leave her and be unhappy, forced to watch her die? She didn't know she could go through this. Maybe she should just keep her mouth shut, go to work tomorrow like nothing had happened and just be friends with Lucifer. But how could she even do that? Pretending she didn't love him, pretending she didn't want to jump him like a horny teenager?

Ahhh, this was a mess. Such a terrible mess!

Trixie ran to the kitchen, smelling clean and nice. The pizza arrived the next second and Chloe put it on the table. They ate hungrily, Trixie chattering the whole time, telling her all about her adventure with the Queen. And when she finished, telling Chloe it was her who had killed the Queen, Chloe just gaped at her daughter in awe and shock, speechless.

Trixie's exuberance died. “Mommy, are you mad at me?”

“What?” Chloe breathed, taken aback by the question. “Of course not. I'm proud of you. You were very brave.” She hesitated for a moment, not sure how to approach the next issue. “But you know it's wrong to kill people, right?”

Trixie frowned. “But she was very bad.”

“Yes. She was. But...” Chloe took a deep breath. “Even the bad people have a right to live. You shouldn't kill them unless it's the only option how to safe lives of other people.”

Trixie nodded solemnly. “I know, mommy. I'm not a little girl anymore.”

Chloe smiled, feeling the tears pushing to her eyes. “Yes, I know. I just sometimes forget that.” Yes, her little monkey was growing fast and soon she would be making her own decisions, her own mistakes, choosing her own way through life and not needing her anymore.

“Are you going to cry?” Trixie asked, her nose wrinkled.

“No, not at all,” Chloe sniffed. “I think I'm going to take the shower now, and you, young lady, better get to bed.”

Trixie's shoulders hunched. “But it isn't even noon yet.”

Chloe sighed. Trixie had two huge bags under her eyes, but Chloe realized she was still full of adrenalin. Hard to fall asleep with that flooding one's body. “OK. You know what? Why don't you go watch TV and after I have the shower I'll join you, hm?”

Trixie beamed and did as Chloe had suggested.

 

Chloe chose to take a long bath instead of a shower. She sank into the hot water with a satisfied sigh. She couldn't stop thinking about Lucifer, about what to do with him. Or what not to do with him. She usually knew the right thing to do, these things coming to her naturally, but now she was lost. Every choice she could think of was just going to end badly at some point. How could God do all the choices all the time?

Chloe sat up straighter, realizing something. This wasn't just her choice. It was Lucifer's too. Who was she to make decisions for him? She should just be honest, tell him everything, her feelings, her preferences and desires, and let him choose. He was entitled like every other person to make his own decisions, wasn't he? Not to be controlled or manipulated.

And it was exactly what Lucifer had always wanted, wasn't it? To make his own decisions. Not to be anyone's puppet. Something God seemed to have a problem understand.

Chloe sank back, a small smile on her lips. Yes, that was the right thing to do. She would tell Lucifer what she wanted and let him make his own decision... and whatever the result would be she would accept it.

Chloe rinsed thoroughly and got out off the bathtub. She wrapped a towel around her finally clean body and walked down the stairs slowly. She stopped, surprised to see Robin sprawled on the couch, absorbed in what looked like some kind of a book. Trixie wasn't there...

“Where's Trixie?” Chloe asked a little panicked. But really, could someone blame her after what had happened?

Robin jumped, startled. “Oh, I took her to her room. She fell asleep on the couch.”

Chloe went and check. Sure, Trixie was sound asleep, her limbs stretched to all sides.

She turned to Robin. “Any news on Lucifer?”

“No, sorry. I helped Rafael to return Susie to the convent, but he insisted to go alone with Andy to Ms. Brooks.”

Chloe nodded, still somewhat puzzled about why he was in her house. “What are you doing?”

“Oh, it's Susie's album. She gave it to me since it's not true anymore. I must say it's quite fascinating. You know what's interesting? In the original time line it was your death that triggered the ending. When you escaped the cell and met those demons, I believe you were supposed to die.”

Chloe shook her head, not comprehending. “What?”

Robin's eyes widened. “Oh, I forgot. You don't know! Remember the stamps? It turned out they tell a real story of... well, world's ending. It's how Susie manifests her visions.”

It was interesting... “So if you hadn't showed up the moment you had, I would have died?”

“Appears so.”

“Huh...” Chloe sat on the couch next to him. “But how was my death a trigger to the end of the world?”

Robin's eyes sparkled with a zeal. He was like a little boy with a favorite toy, Chloe thought. “Well Lucifer was supposed to build a cage for God, but decided against it and went to look for you and Trixie instead. He found you dead and went a little bit crazy, I guess, wreaking havoc in that place. The Queen escaped to Hell, taking Trixie with her, which, of course, killed her. Lucifer followed the Queen, took her powers and killed her. Then he took Trixie's soul to Heaven, searching for yours there too. But he didn't find it. Because you had been killed in that place, your soul couldn't have found it's way to Heaven. And when Zadkiel had destroyed the place, he had destroyed your soul as well. So when Lucifer realized you were completely gone, he actually built the cage, captured God and demanded He resurrect you. But apparently it was beyond His powers, so Lucifer killed Him too, somehow. And with God's death the Universe ceased to exist as well.”

Chloe blinked. “Wow, this is a story even Marvel wouldn't come up with.”

“What? Wait, you don't believe it?”

“And you do?”

“Yes! It's Susie's prediction and she was right about everything else.”

“But Lucifer killing God? Is that even possible? And how was he supposed to do that?”

Robin shrugged. “Well, I don't know, the stamps are a little blurry in this part. It's not like reading a manual...”

“Hm.” Chloe just couldn't imagine Lucifer ending the world. Robin must have had it wrong... She shook her head to get rid of the disturbing image and returned to her original question: “When I asked what you were doing, I meant what were you doing here. Why are you here?”

Robin looked at her like she had just asked the most ridiculous question. “I'm your guardian angel, remember? So I'm guarding you.”

Chloe jumped off the couch almost loosing the towel covering her body. “What? Are you joking?”

“Of course not! Lucifer and Dad made a deal. Lucifer kept the end of his bargain, so Dad must too.”

Chloe put her forehead in her palm. “This must be a cosmic joke! Are you seriously going to spend the rest of my life stalking me?”

Robin looked offended. “I'm only doing what Father wants.”

“Yes, everybody seems to do what your Father wants! But I don't want to! I don't need a guardian angel. And I don't want one either.”

Now he looked downright hurt.

“It's nothing personal,” Chloe assured him. “It's just... you know what? I want to speak with Him!”

“With whom?”

“Your Father!” Chloe said, gulping when she realized what she had just demanded.

Robin gaped.

“And please don't tell me it doesn't work like that. Just go and ask Him. Nicely.”

Robin collected himself. “Ehm... OK. I will go and ask.”

“Thank you,” Chloe said, her voice sounding little shaky. Robin unfolded his gray wings and took off.

*****

Saying Lucifer was nervous was a huge understatement. It was taking them too long. Too bloody long... What was Father doing with them? A scream suddenly sounded from behind the closed door, making Lucifer jump.

The door opened and two guards dragged screaming Zadkiel out.

“Please! Have mercy, Father!” Zadkiel cried, kicking his legs in protest. But there was no answer, the door simply closed gently.

“No!” Zadkiel yelled as the guards were dragging him through the hallway. “You'll pay for this! You think you won?! You're wrong! It's not over, do you hear me?! It's not over!”

Lucifer gulped. Not that he felt any remorse for his brother, he didn't. But he was reluctant to find out what Father had condemned him to. The door opened again and this time Amenadiel walked out, his head bow. He looked at Lucifer with sad eyes, his lips thin. But he didn't say anything, he just kept walking, another pair of guards accompanying him on his way out.

“Lucifer!” It was Ezekiel's voice. “Come in.”

Lucifer stood up, tried to smooth his stained shirt a little and walked in. He paused just behind the door. It was so bloody long since he had seen his Father. And surprisingly enough, he looked all the same. His face was wrinkled a little, his golden hair in disarray, his slight form clad in loose gray trousers and a white shirt. He looked like someone's unmarried uncle.

There was an awkward silence. Lucifer wet his lips, preparing to say... something, but his Father beat him to it: “Leave us.”

Ezekiel looked sharply at Him. “Are you sure?”

God only arched his eyebrows, giving Ezekiel the answer.

“As you wish,” Ezekiel said and followed Michael and the remaining two guards out. They closed the door behind them.

And the awkward silence was back. Lucifer stared at his Father while God stared at His son. It was just the two of them now, oh, and the huge, invisible elephant in the room.

The throne room hadn't changed much either, Lucifer noticed. It was large, with white marble floor, white and golden walls and huge windows and balconies on two sides. There was a wooden throne in the middle, looking more like a big chair than a throne, several tables with various items on them and chairs along the walls. And it was bright. The light was coming in through the windows in abundance. It was the exact opposite of what his Mother preferred. Lucifer couldn't fathom how his parents could have got together. He blinked and shook his head, trying to forget the past and concentrating on the present. The last time he had been here he had been condemned to rule the Hell for all eternity. He wondered what his sentence would be now.

“Father,” he finally managed, trying hard not to reveal all the unexpected feelings of betrayal and hurt that had overwhelmed him.

God frowned a little and started to march to Lucifer. Lucifer took a step back before he checked himself – he wasn't one to show fear even if he felt it. Which he didn't. More or less.

God stopped just about a feet in front of him and lifted His hand to Lucifer's face. Lucifer jerked a little, feeling the touch vibrate through his whole body. “What-”

But before he could say more, God withdrew His hand and stepped back. “Much better.”

Lucifer touched his face. The swellings and cuts were gone as was the pain and fatigue. He tried to smile his thanks but the result was probably a pained grimace.

“So, what is my punishment to be?”

“Punishment?”

“Or if you prefer the term 'assignment', who am I to argue,” Lucifer spat.

God heaved a sigh. “Still using anger to suppress your other emotions and avoid taking responsibility for your actions, I see.”

Lucifer scoffed.

“And here I thought your detective friend has taught you some manners.”

“Oh, is that why you put her in my path? To teach me things?”

“I didn't put her in your path.”

“Don't lie to me!” Lucifer yelled, turning crimson. “You chose her to be the mother of your next prophet and you made Rafael use my feather on Chloe so my powers wouldn't effect her and then you sent her to... to... make me fall in love with her so you could control me!”

God contemplated His son for a long moment, before He spoke again: “I don't lie, son. And I didn't choose her or send her to do anything.”

Lucifer frowned. “What do you mean you didn't choose her?”

“Do you really think I would choose a DAUGHTER of an ATHEIST to be my prophet?”

Lucifer blinked. Was it a rhetorical question? “But you sent Rafael...”

“Yes, I did. But I didn't foresee he would stop by the forbidden tree first.”

Lucifer's eyes widened. “You knew?”

“Of course I knew. How could I not know when a girl to an atheist had been born instead of a boy to a catholic girl.”

Lucifer opened his mouth and then he closed it again. Was his Father serious?

“That moron got so high I'm surprised he found the right city. And the building. But what he didn't find was the right apartment. You see, I sent him to the second floor, apartment four. Well, he went to the fourth floor, apartment two. And by some cosmic chance that even I can't control, there was a pregnant woman too.”

Lucifer stood dumbstruck. Chloe wasn't his Father's choice? “How could have you chosen some catholic ninny over Chloe?! Are you suffering from dementia?”

God lifted his eyebrows. He had almost forgotten how impertinent His son was. “So, before you were upset because you thought I had chosen Chloe and now you're upset because you know I didn't choose her?”

Lucifer blinked. Put like that it sounded like he was the one with brain problems. “Well, yes!”

God smiled. “I see.”

“No, no you don't. You should thank Rafael because now you have Beatrice as you prophet, which is so much better than some stupid, obedient, malleable boy. She is smart,” he started to count on his fingers, “brave, strong, compassionate-”

“Alright, alright, I got your meaning. It isn't her personality I'm concerned about, it's the fact that she is a girl. You know people. They still have tendencies not to take women seriously. Look what happened to the last female prophet.”

“What female prophet?”

“Exactly.”

“Oh,” Lucifer finally understood and calmed down a little. “Well, look at the bright side. It could be much worse. Imagine Rafael went to Africa and your prophet turned out to be a black, uneducated, poor, lesbian girl.” As far as jokes go this wasn't exactly one Lucifer was proud of. But his Father obviously didn't agree since He started to laugh.

“So, you didn't arrange my meeting with Chloe?” Lucifer asked just to be sure.

“No, I didn't.”

“What a coincidence, then...” Lucifer's tone said something else than his words.

“I don't believe it was a coincidence,” his Father said. “I think it was the relation to Beatrice that brought you from Hell and to L.A. The pull of your own divinity.”

“Wait, you're saying I left Hell because I felt this... pull?”

“Didn't you? You were there for millenniums and didn't leave. Why?”

“Why?!” Lucifer repeated, incredulous. “Because you condemned me there for the eternity. Made me a villain, an instigator of all the human's sins. Have you forgotten? Because I certainly haven't!”

God sighed and sat on His throne. “Honestly, I thought you wouldn't follow my order and would leave much sooner.”

“What? You mean like a disobedient son I am?”

“Yes.”

Lucifer snorted. Of course He thought the worst about him. “Sorry to disappoint. Again. I just... I thought, maybe if I...” Lucifer paused, taking a deep breath, trying to take control over his shaking voice. “I thought that if I did as you wished, if I obeyed you, that you would maybe take me back one day. That you would forgive me...” Lucifer shrugged, remembering his own naivety. “But then I realized I was wrong.”

“I can't forgive you son,” God said making Lucifer stiffen. “I can't forgive you when you show no remorse.”

“That's because I don't feel any!” Lucifer yelled. “I don't regret what I did. The humans deserved to be free!”

“YES!” God thundered. “They did. But not like that! You pushed the freedom onto them! You poured the awareness over them without thinking about consequences.”

“Consequences?!”

“Yes. Freedom doesn't mean you can do whatever you wish. With freedom comes responsibility. And it's something that needs to be taught. Every person, Lucifer, is born completely dependent on his mother and father. He must be taught, slowly, to make his own decisions and to take responsibility for them. It's what the free will means. And you – you just threw it on the people and let them deal with consequences they weren't prepared for!”

Lucifer felt like he had been hit by a lightning. He had never thought about it this way. He had only wanted for the humans to feel free. Like he wanted to feel free. “You should have told me,” Lucifer whispered.

“I did. Repeatedly. Don't you remember?”

“NO! All you said was to leave them alone. That you had a plan. But you never shared that plan of yours with any of us, did you?” Lucifer spat, feeling angry all over again.

God took a deep breath, closing His eyes briefly. “I admit it's partially my fault too. I spoiled you terribly. Let you do as you pleased all the time. And I failed to teach you what I wanted to teach the humans. The responsibility. No wonder you felt you could go against my orders. You betrayed me,” He added in a sad tone.

Lucifer snorted. “And so you sent me to Hell. Alone...”

“There was no other way.”

“Wasn't there?” Lucifer smiled bitterly, brushing a single tear from his cheek.

“You needed to face the consequences of your action. As did the humans.”

Lucifer scoffed. “A rather harsh punishment, the Hell, don't you think?”

“The humans needed a motivation to avoid sins and the knowledge there was justice after death. The Hell was a necessity, the one you had made. And it needed a ruler. So what else should I have done? Sent one of your brothers there instead of you? To suffer the consequences of your doing?”

Lucifer lowered his eyes. “But you left me there all alone. You could have at least visited me.”

“You have never shown any inclination you wanted to see me. All you did was blaming me for everything. I just hoped... if I waited, that maybe someday you would understand the wrong you have done.”

Lucifer gulped. “Sorry to be such a disappointment.” He laughed harshly, brushing more tears from his eyes. “At least I finally understand why you wanted to get rid of me for good.”

“I didn't want to get rid of you for good.”

Lucifer's eyebrow shot up. “Oh, really? Must have interpreted the 'whole eternity' part incorrectly.”

God sighed. “I was mad, it's true. I was... hurt by your lack of trust in me. By your attempt to convince your siblings to disobey me. By your turning against me... But even then, when I sentenced you to Hell, I didn't want you to spent the eternity there. I hoped you would recognize your error and ask for forgiveness. Then I could have brought you back. But when I realized it would never happen, I hoped you would rebel again and simply leave.”

Lucifer shook his head. “I don't understand. If you didn't want me to be there forever why did you condemn me there for the eternity?”

God sighed. “In humans' term – politics. I have to maintain the balance, Lucifer. And most of your siblings wanted me to destroy you completely. They felt disobeying my direct order, betraying me was the most severe sin. And the fact you were my favorite son and an archangel to that wasn't helpful either. If I were lenient, if I didn't make an example of you, your siblings would have lost their faith in me. They would rebel and then I would have to destroy them.”

“This is completely insane!” Lucifer yelled. “You're God! You can do whatever you please!”

“No, I can't. That's why I couldn't bring you back directly, not without a good reason. And since you didn't give me one, like an apology for instance, I had to employ more indirect method to get you out.”

“What the hell are you talking about?”

“Have you ever wondered why I commanded Rafael to use your feather to create the new prophet?”

“I have. I thought it was some kind of a joke of yours.”

God smiled. “Why do you always think the worst of me, I don't know.”

“Because you're a manipulative bastard, perhaps? Or because of all that insufferable rules of yours? Or because you always think the worst of me too? Pick one.”

“You can't see, what I see, Lucifer. I have reasons for everything I do. And I don't have to justify myself to you or anyone.”

“Right, because you're almighty God,” Lucifer drawled. “No, sorry, I forgot, even you have to follow political rules. So why did you do it? Use my feather on Beatrice?” He now had a pretty idea why, but he still needed to hear it from his Father.

“To get you out of Hell, of course.”

“Really?”

“Yes. As I told you, it was the pull of the divinity inside Beatrice, that got you out, finally. As I hoped it would.”

Lucifer shook his head, still unable to believe that. “Then why to send Amenadiel to take me back?”

God laughed. “I couldn't tell your brothers that it was alright to disobey me again, could I? I hoped you would last till I figured what to do next with you. Fortunately, in a way, you died, your Mother escaped and you offered me the deal. So finally I had a presentable reason to let you live on Earth.”

“You're insane,” Lucifer whispered. He still had trouble to believe his Father had orchestrated all that. It felt so good to know He cared after all and yet it felt so bad to know He had manipulated him. Once again when Lucifer thought he had done something on his own, it turned out he hadn't. “You're completely crazy. And still a manipulative bastard.”

“And you're welcome.”

Lucifer snorted. “Right. So what now?”

“Isn't it obvious?”

“There's nothing obvious with you, Dad.”

“Ah, you're probably right. Well, you will return to Earth and you will protect Beatrice till the day she dies.”

Great relief flooded Lucifer's body. “I'll make sure it won't be anytime soon.”

God smiled.

“But what about Hell? I guess it really needs a ruler so Mother – or her soul – won't escape again. Not that I'm volunteering!”

“Yes. It's Amenadiel's punishment now.”

“Oh? Is that also for the eternity?”

God smiled. “We'll see about it. If Beatrice succeeds there may be no need for Hell, anymore.”

“Don't want to know what that means. And what about Zadkiel? He looked pretty desperate when he was dragged out.”

“Oh, his punishment is severe, yes. Since you captured his divinity in the locket...”

“... So that's what it does...”

“... I decided to take advantage of his mortal state. I sent him to Earth to live among the creatures he despises.”

Lucifer glared. “That's his punishment? Really?”

“Yes. And when he dies, he either returns to Heaven or goes to Hell, depending on his deeds as a mortal.”

“Right. Tell me you sent him to Siberia at least. Or Sahara...”

“No. I sent him to Stony Hill. It was his fault the town was destroyed by Kerberos so he can help the humans to rebuild it.”

Lucifer frowned. This didn't sound like a punishment to him. And he knew punishment... Rose, the horny little virgin, would probably jump him the minute he would land there. Maybe Lucifer would visit his brother and show him what a real punishment looks like.

God rose from His throne and walked to Lucifer slowly. Lucifer eyed Him suspiciously not knowing what was He doing. He stopped just in front of him, their noses almost touching. “I need to know, Lucifer. I need your word that you will never, ever betray me again.”

Lucifer gulped. There was pain in his Father's eyes. He had never thought that Father had seen his small rebellion like a betrayal. That He had been hurt by his action. Lucifer blinked several times, trying to push the tears back in. “I... I didn't want to hurt you. Or anyone. And I'm sorry for that,” he choked on his last words.

“I'm sorry too, son,” God whispered. “I should have been a better Father to you.”

“Yes, you should have,” Lucifer retorted in an accusing tone.

God snorted. He would have turned His eyes heavenward too but there was no Heaven above Heaven... “I take it I have your word you won't betray me again?”

Lucifer nodded, not trusting his brain to come up with something appropriate. God extended His arms in a clear intend to hug His son, but Lucifer stepped back in alarm. “What are you doing?”

“I am trying to hug you.”

“Don't push it!” Lucifer yelled. He didn't want a hug from his Father. Or maybe he did but was too scared to have it. What if he would really cry then?

God rolled his eyes and sighed. He lifted His hand. “May I at least touch you?”

Lucifer eyed the hand suspiciously but stood still when God laid His palm on Lucifer's cheek.

“Be well, son.”

“Well, you too...” Lucifer replied hastily.

They stood like that for several more seconds.

“May I go now?” Lucifer asked, feeling more and more uncomfortable under God's gaze.

God nodded and let His hand fall. Lucifer turned quickly before he would do something stupid, like really hug his Father after he had refused to be hugged, and strode out of the room, not looking back once.

He turned in the hall, breathing hard and headed out. He almost bumped into Robin and Gabriel on his way out.

“Hey, Lucifer,” Robin exclaimed cheerfully. “How the talk with Father went?”

“Painfully. What are you doing here?” He looked from one brother to the other. “Aren't you suppose to look after Chloe? Is she alright? Did Rafael-”

“Yes, yes, she's fine, “Gabriel answered hastily.

“She is having a nap, I think,” Robin added. “Or maybe not. We just need to speak with Father for a brief moment. Then I'll go back to her. Don't worry.”

“Father wants to talk to you too? Well, good luck,” Lucifer breathed and almost ran out, not giving Robin time to explain. He avoided the stares his siblings were giving him, probably wondering why he was free, marching right to the Gate of Heaven. Several angels were trying to put it right, but couldn't even lift it. They frowned at Lucifer as he approached.

“Father let you leave? Look, what you've done!”

“It needs a new paint anyway,” Lucifer spat, not paying any real attention to the angels. He walked to the edge and spread his wings, taking a nice dive downwards. He needed to feel the air flowing around his body, whispering through his feathers. He needed time to absorb all His Father had told him. Maybe he really was the monster humans have him for. If it wasn't for him, for his reckless decision, then maybe there wouldn't be any kind of hell at all. And maybe the people would be happy. From birth to death. And after death too.

And maybe not. It was just too painful to think about it. So he let his body fall, through the clouds and frosty air, concentrating on better thoughts. On Chloe. He was eager to see her, yet he felt a strange apprehension. He remembered vividly how she had looked at him in the Mother's room, when he had showed her his other, more ugly face. He remembered the tears when his mother had offered she would make Chloe fall in love with him. And he remembered how she had refused to kiss him on the parking lot in Stoney Hill. Had she come to her senses after the night on the swing? Had she realized she didn't want him? Surely not. There was a lot of passion in the way she had kissed him on the swing, in the way she had let herself go. And Lucifer understood passion. He knew it when he saw it and he knew Chloe would want more. Need more... wouldn't she? They all did... although Chloe wasn't exactly like the rest of them...

Lucifer got out of his reverie when he almost hit an airplane. He spread his wings wide, slowing his progress and jumping right in the 'passage' dimension to get home faster and in a safer way.

He landed in the middle of his penthouse, looking around. He sighed. His apartment was a mess. It needed a lot of cleaning. He folded his wings, took a shower, changed his clothes and called the cleaning army, again, to make his penthouse presentable.

*****

Chloe was nervous. That was a silly idea. Demanding to speak with God. The entity that had created everything, including the cup of coffee in front of her. And HER. He had created her. Chloe gulped. Yes, it was probably a very bad idea. Maybe He wouldn't come. Maybe He would just laugh and laugh at her request. Why would a creature who had sent His own son to Hell be bothered by some silly human? It would probably be better if He didn't come. Because she had no idea how to tell Him what she had to tell Him.

Someone knocked on the front door. Chloe almost fell off her chair. Then she collected herself – God wouldn't knock, would He? And it had been barely fifteen minutes since Robin had left.

She went to the door and opened it to find a slight, older man with a mess of blond hair standing there. He looked like a homeless guy. How desperate must he be to walk and knock on people's door? Well, help the less unfortunate, right? She reached into her wallet and pulled out a twenty dollar bill.

The man lifted His eyebrows. “Well, people offered me animals, obedience, glory, their children and souls to comply with their request, but twenty dollars is the first time for me.”

Chloe gaped. And when she remembered she had a brain, the only thing that came out was “Oh God.”

“Yes?”

“I thought you were...” she signaled His somewhat disheveled appearance.

“Yes. May I come in or are we going to have the conversation on your doorstep?”

Chloe moved swiftly out of the way. “Of course, come in.”

She closed the door behind Him and led Him to the kitchen. “Would you like some coffee? I've been told I make an excellent coffee. That is if you drink coffee. Or, you know, if you drink at all.”

He smiled. “I could use a coffee, thank you.”

Chloe made God a coffee and sat Him to the table. She sat opposite Him and sipped her own coffee while watching Him with round eyes. No, she certainly didn't picture Him like this. She noticed then He had the same dark eyes as Lucifer. Warm, intelligent, honest. She liked Him already even though she supposed she shouldn't. After what He had done to Lucifer...

“So first you sent me a message and then you decided it wasn't enough and you wanted to talk to me?”

Chloe nodded, uncertainty gripping her heart.

“Then talk. Contrary to beliefs I can't read people's minds. Well unless they pray.”

“Yes, yes,” Chloe wet her lips nervously. “I wanted to ask you to nullify your deal with Lucifer.”

God smiled. “Why?”

“Because I don't need a guardian angel. I can take care of myself. And Lucifer needs...”

“Yes?” He prodded clearly interested in what she had to say.

“Don't take it the wrong way, but he needs to get rid of you. You're like a shackle on his ankle and he just drags you with him everywhere he goes.”

“You're saying I'm a burden to him?”

Chloe tried to take a deep breath but couldn't. “In a way, yes.”

God frowned. “I gave him life. I watched over him as he grew, supported him and loved him.”

“Yes, but he's not a child anymore. I realize how hard it is for a parent to let go of his child, I'm a parent too, but you have to let him go. You can't just breath over his back his whole life. He needs to make his own decisions, his own mistakes, otherwise he will never learn. He will always blame you for whatever he does wrong.”

God took a long sip of the coffee. “I know what's best for my son.”

Chloe groaned. “You said you can't read people's minds. How can you know then what's best for Lucifer? And does it even matter? Is life really suppose to be about what's best for someone?”

“Lucifer is difficult. He has always had this rebellious streak inside him. I worry what he will do if I let him out of my sight.”

Chloe shook her head. “Don't you understand? He rebels only because you're trying to control him. He just wants to be his own man, that's all.”

God contemplated her for a long time. “What do you suggest then?”

Chloe couldn't believe He was really considering her words. “Let him go. Let him do as he please and then face the consequences. No tasks, no missions, no control.”

“He's been appointed as a guardian angel to Beatrice. He seemed quite content with the arrangement.”

“But did he choose it or did you command him to do it?”

“The latter.”

Chloe nodded. “Appoint another angel then and if Lucifer would like, he can guard Trixie as well.”

God stared at her for a few seconds. “Alright.”

Chloe's eyes widened. “Really? I mean thank you.” She smiled and felt tears flooding her eyes. She hadn't realized until now how much she had wanted to succeed.

“Hm. I hope you're right though. Thank you for the coffee. It really was good.”

Chloe nodded, unable to stop smiling.

God contemplated her a moment longer. “No other questions?”

Chloe shook her head.

“Really? No asking why are you here or why I have chosen Beatrice as a prophet?”

“Would you answer me?”

God thought for a second. “No.”

Chloe giggled. “I figured.”

God touched her hand then and Chloe breathed in surprise. Her fatigue was gone. “What?”

“I'm sorry, but you really looked like Hell. And yes, I've been there. Few millenniums ago.”

“Ehm... thank you.”

God just nodded. “I will be going. I presume you'll tell Lucifer about the new... about his freedom? He should be back anytime soon.”

“Yes. Yes, I will.”

Chloe stood up to walk the God out, but He simply vanished in front of her eyes.

“Of course,” Chloe murmured, still not believing she had just had a conversation with God. And that she had convinced Him to let Lucifer go.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Writing about God as a character was probably one of the most bizarre things I have ever done (yes, I'm a very boring person) :D


	17. Favorite Son

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's time for Chloe and Lucifer to figure out their feelings...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Finally the last chapter. I must warn you I got carried away a little (or maybe more).

Lucifer poured himself a drink and watched the seven people cleaning his mess of the penthouse. They were like seven dwarfs with their small tools, which made him what – Snow White? He shook his head and drank his scotch.

He should probably go to see Chloe and Trixie to make sure they were really OK. But Gabriel had said they had been OK and he believed him. But still, he should probably let Chloe know he was back. And appointed by Father to protect Trixie until she dies. Like at the age of 110 if he had something to say about it.

But still he didn't move. He realized he was stalling. Maybe because of this weird tingling sensation he was feeling. He would call it fear if he was honest. But he wasn't.

The elevator opened and Maze came in.

“You're back,” she announced without any real emotion, overlooking the place.

“Yup.”

“I've brought back your car. It's been still parked in front of the burned school. I thought you might want it back.”

Lucifer nodded, watching Maze carefully. She looked resigned and defiant at the same time. “Why don't you ask what you want to ask, Maze?”

Maze snorted. “Why do you think I want to ask something?”

“Because of your eyes darting from left to right and back again, desperately looking for the person who isn't here?”

Maze bared her teeth in annoyance. “Fine. Where's Amenadiel?”

“Hell.”

Maze's eyes widened. “They've killed him?”

Lucifer laughed. “No. He's been crowned the new king of the realm.”

Lucifer watched as the information sank in. He knew before Maze did what she was going to do. “There's no need to hesitate, Maze. I know you never liked it here. Now there's a good reason for you to return to Hell.”

“You wouldn't mind?”

Lucifer smiled. He knew she asked just out of respect. Maze would do whatever she wanted as always. She didn't realize it but she had been with him this long just because she had wanted to be with him. But that was in the past now. “Why would I mind? As I told you before, if you want to go back to Hell, I'm not keeping you here.”

“What about you?”

“Me? Well, I'm planning to stay here for a very long time.”

“With your detective?”

Lucifer tried to smile but grimaced instead.

“She likes you, you know?” Maze said as she headed back to the elevator.

“Of course she does. Everybody likes me,” Lucifer added, not sounding very convincing though.

*****

Chloe felt weird. That was she felt fresh, although about an hour ago she had felt so tired. A small charity from her visitor. She had had a nice plan to go to bed but now she didn't know what to do.

Her cell rang.

“Maze?”

“He's back. You wanted to know so I'm letting you know.”

“Oh, OK. Is he... ehm...”

“Running to you? No. He's overseeing the cleaning of the penthouse. If you want to see him, you better go to him.”

“Why?”

Maze shrugged which Chloe couldn't see of course, then said: “This emotion stuff isn't really our thing, it's more human thing. It's kind of... overwhelming.”

“Tha-” Chloe started to say but Maze had already hanged up.

Chloe frowned. What was Maze meaning by that? Why wouldn't Lucifer come to her? Was he afraid of his own feelings? Because maybe he didn't understand them?

Chloe groaned. This was going to be more difficult than she'd anticipated. She would probably have to give him a lot of time to come to terms with his emotions. And with the thing she was going to offer. But first she needed to end one part of her life. She finally knew what to do now. She had time, she only needed...

The air moved around her and Robin landed next to her couch, grinning like an idiot.

“Why are you back?” Chloe asked, momentarily puzzled. But then she got a suspicion she didn't want to be true.

“Father has appointed me as the guardian angel to Trixie since you've made a new deal with Him.”

Chloe closed her eyes and took a deep breath. “Yeah, alright. I'll just go and buy you a doghouse then.”

Robin smiled thinking she was trying to make a joke. “What deal did you make with Father?”

Chloe just smiled. “Listen since you are here, could you look after Trixie for me? I have to go to jail and-”

“Jail?”

“Yes, I have to see my husband. And then I'll go to see Lucifer. I'm not sure when I return.”

Robin smiled knowingly. “Of course, no problem.”

“And if by any chance mom comes back when I'm away, just tell her that... that the trip was OK. And make sure Trixie won't tell her anything about our... adventure. She wouldn't handle it. And if she asks why are you here, just tell her that you're a new babysitter.”

Robin sighed. “Fine.”

Chloe walked out then and went on her mission.

*****

The cleaning was finished. The workers had left except for their boss, Carol, Lucifer believed was her name. She was a rather short, stout woman in her early fifties. She looked quite tired today. But it was probably because of the terrible mess she had just cleaned up. She was picking up the tools, laying them on a cleaning cart, preparing to leave.

“Would it be all, Mr. Morningstar?”

“Yes, thank you,” Lucifer replied, but then he changed his mind. “Well, actually there is one thing...”

“Yes?”

He frowned a little, this was probably one of those questions people would deem inappropriate to ask. But he needed to know. “Are you happy?”

“Ehm... excuse me?”

“Are you happy with your life? Or would you prefer to... live differently?”

“Most of the time I'm happy, I guess.”

“Most of the time?” Lucifer repeated, trying to understand.

“Well, you can hardly be happy all the time, can you? There's always something that pisses you off from time to time. Politics, neighbors, taxi drivers, husband.”

Lucifer lifted his brows. “So you say if not for these things, you would be happy all the time?”

Carol laughed. “No. I would just be mad at something or someone else. I don't think a person can be constantly happy, you know? I'm sorry, but why are you asking me this?”

“I've been thinking lately about happiness. About the things that make people unhappy. If those things could be just removed...”

“Oh, please don't!”

“Hm?”

“Don't remove my husband, it would be horrible! He surely pisses me off sometimes, but he also makes me happy. I love him.”

“Wait. So you're saying that to be happy you need to be unhappy too, sometimes?”

Carol looked confused. This was probably beyond her mental capacity, Lucifer thought. “I guess,” she admitted.

“So you can't make someone completely happy...?”

Carol's face lit. “Oh, I see... Listen, whoever the woman is, don't worry that you screw up. Because you will one day. Everyone does. Just buy her flowers or chocolate or take her to dinner and everything will be alright again.”

“No, no, no, no, no. It's not what this is about. I was wondering if people got a chance to be really happy, would they be?”

Carol looked confused again, but then she said: “No.”

“Oh?”

“My daughter works in a mental institution for disabled people. They try to do everything to make them happy and most of the time they are, but sometimes they simply aren't. I think it's just the way people are.”

Lucifer nodded.

“May I go now?” She looked a bit desperate.

“Sure. Thank you.” _That woman will probably find a new job now_ , Lucifer thought.

He sighed. There really was no point in postponing the inevitable. He must face Chloe. Better to do it sooner than later. He only wished he knew how she would react when she saw him again. Just to be prepared.

He spread his wings and took off before he got too scared to act.

 

Lucifer landed in front of Chloe's TV. It was on which meant someone was watching it. And since there was no 'Luciferrr', it was probably Chloe. So he took a deep breath, prepared himself to face her and-

“You've just missed her.”

Lucifer spun on his heel, almost hitting his youngest brother with his wing.

“What the bloody hell are you doing here?!” Lucifer demanded before he remembered. “Oh right, the deal. I guess I'll just have to get used to seeing you every day.” Lucifer grimaced. It was a very disturbing idea.

Robin smiled sweetly. “Yes.”

“Where's Chloe? You say I've missed her?”

“Yes. She's just left. She's gone to prison.”

“Prison? Why?”

“To see her husband.”

“Detective Douche?!”

“Does she have more of them?”

Lucifer snorted, not bothering to answer the stupid question. He had his own: “Why?”

Robin shrugged. “I don't know. But she said she would go to you after that.”

“I see,” Lucifer narrowed his eyes, thinking. So she went to visit the Douche? And she would go to him AFTER she visited the Douche. Well, good to know her priorities. And why was she going there, anyway? Certainly not to tell him what had happened... Maybe to let him know Trixie was OK? He must have known she had been missing. Even though just for a couple of days... But couldn't she have just called him?

Lucifer realized Robin was moving his mouth again. “Sorry, what?”

“I was just saying that you don't have to worry. I will take a very good care of Trixie.”

“What are you babbling now?”

Robin stared. “Oh... you don't know?”

“Know what?!” Lucifer demanded, his voice rising.

“I... I... I'm her new guardian angel,” Robin stammered.

Lucifer scoffed. “Have you been drinking, brother?”

“No.”

“Has someone hit you on the head?”

Robin sighed. How was he to know nobody had informed his brother... “Lucifer. I really am the new guardian angel of Trixie.”

Lucifer wanted to hit him. Was he deaf? “Why do you think so?”

“Father told me.”

“Oh, really? And when was that?”

“About fifteen minutes ago...”

“What? But why would He...”

“Chloe made some kind of a deal with Him. I thought you knew.”

Lucifer gulped. Chloe? Had she asked for the change? “What deal?”

“I don't know. She demanded to talk to Him and Father agreed. They met and talked and then Father told me that I was no longer Chloe's guardian angel, that the old deal between Him and you was over. He made a new deal with Chloe and I'm Trixie's guardian angel now. That's all I know.”

Lucifer felt blood drain from his face. He wet his lips before reassuring himself he had heard well. “The detective spoke to Father?”

“Yes.”

“I... see,” he pushed through clenched teeth. What had He told her? And why had she wanted to speak with Him?

“Ah... are you OK?”

“Fine,” Lucifer breathed. He spread his wings and took off quickly. Before he did something stupid like killing his brother...

He landed back in the middle of his newly cleaned penthouse. It was shiny, without a speck of dust. He stood in the middle, looking around like he was seeing it for the first time. It was nice, his penthouse, spacy, full of light and tasty. He had always liked it. It had suited him and comforted him. Until now. Now it seemed a bit too large, a bit too bright and so completely empty of... something.

Lucifer snapped himself out of the strange reverie. 

So Chloe had spoken to his Father... And apparently had decided to get rid of him, hadn't she? Well, he had imagined a lot of ways their future would go, but never this. Never to be cut off so completely.

He felt something dark starting to grow inside his guts. It was heavy and spreading slowly from his belly to his chest and up to his neck, almost choking him. It felt like it was going to eat him alive. Organ by organ until there was nothing left. Like a black hole devouring everything and sparing nothing.

He sat down heavily to his piano. He wasn't sure his legs would support him much longer...

Did it mean he would never see her again? But no, Robin had said she would come. Probably to tell him that she wouldn't be needing him anymore.

And it made sense, didn't it? With all the angels in Heaven why would she choose the Devil to protect her daughter? Trixie was the most precious thing Chloe had, she wouldn't want to entrust her to someone like him... not when she had a choice...

Lucifer reached for a bottle and a glass resting on the piano and poured himself a good amount of alcohol. Just out of habit. Because right now it wasn't helping at all.

Would Chloe want to continue working with him at least? She had liked working with him, hadn't she? Or would she rather not now that she knew who he was? She had Robin now, she didn't need him even as a working partner any more.

Lucifer emptied the glass quickly and refilled it. What was he to do now with his life? Run LUX? And... what? Maze had left, he had scared Linda to death, Chloe had chosen someone else... And that was it... wasn't it? So this was supposed to be his life now? And he had thought Hell was bad...

His finger pushed a key and then another and soon the sad melody of Queen's Who Wants to Live Forever filled his ears. Pity there was only the question in the melody but no answer.

He played and played, but the comfort the music had always provided hadn't come. He shut the lid with more strength that was necessary and laid his head on the top. And then he heard the elevator ding.

Lucifer grabbed his glass and stood up, steeling his features, determined to show the only emotion he dared – anger – he turned quickly, coming face to face with Chloe.

“Hi,” she breathed, a small smile playing around her lips. Lucifer faltered, his resolve to be angry melting quickly. She just looked too beautiful. And he couldn't be angry with someone who looked that beautiful. And nervous, Lucifer noted. Her hands were playing with each other, her fingers pressing and pulling. She might be nervous yet still she had come to face the beast. Well, she was no coward, his detective...

“Detective...” Lucifer drawled, proud his voice didn't shake. “So, is it my turn now?”

Chloe frowned. That didn't sound right. Or was she just imagining it? She was so nervous that she couldn't think straight. “What?”

“Well, I was told you had gone to see Dan the Douche.”

“Who told you that?”

“Well, my brother, of course. He was the only one in your house when I came by.”

_Oh, shit_ , Chloe cursed silently. Something was definitely wrong... “Yes, I visited Dan to-”

“So how is he, detective Douche?” Lucifer interrupted her, while he turned around and poured himself another drink.

Chloe had few seconds to rearrange her thoughts before Lucifer turned back to her. “Well, not well. He's in prison...”

“... hmmm, so sad, it's not like he deserves it,” Lucifer spat sarcastically.

“... and I've just told him I'm filing for divorce.”

Lucifer paused with the glass halfway to his lips. He gaped for a moment and then he managed a somewhat poor “oh,” hating the somersault his heart had just turned. This wasn't supposed to be like this. She was supposed to tell him she didn't want him anymore and leave. Not tell him about a divorce. Lucifer didn't know how to react so he just stared.

_OK, breath, Chloe, breath_ , she encouraged herself. _You can do this._ _You managed God. And this is_ _just the Devil, nothing serious._ She tried to stop her hands from their spontaneous moving, but couldn't. So she ignored them and stammered: “I've been thinking about, well... everything. And I spoke to your Dad.”

“How did that go? Learned few things about me?” Lucifer gripped the glass tighter dreading the answer.

“It was... intense.”

“Yes, Dad has this kind of effect on people. I heard you had rescinded my deal with Him...”

“Yes, I don't want someone to shadow my every step. I don't need it. So I asked Him to annul the deal.”

Lucifer sneered. Now she was avoiding the main reason she had asked his Dad to annul the agreement. Maybe afraid to tell him she wanted to be rid of him, after all? “Well, detective, you haven't rescind the deal just to get rid of a shadow, have you?” Lucifer prodded.

“No.” Chloe smiled hesitantly waiting for him to catch the implication.

“I thought that much,” Lucifer scoffed and took a long sip of his drink, the hot liquid barely getting past the lump in his throat.

Chloe frowned. Something wasn't right. Maybe she shouldn't have done it. Maybe not without Lucifer's knowledge. “I'm sorry I went behind your back.”

“Don't apologize, it was a brilliant tactic, actually.”

OK, something was definitely very wrong... Chloe bowed her head, thinking. “Lucifer, I only wanted for you to be free.”

“Free?” he repeated, an incredulous look on his face. “Really, detective, I have never had you for a coward.”

“What?!”

“If you don't want me to be your offspring's guardian, you can just tell me! No need to tiptoe around it.”

Chloe shook her head. “But I do want you to be her guardian!”

“Really? Why is Mr. Proper claiming it's his job now, then? Hm?”

“Well, he's officially her guardian angel. But unofficially-”

“Unofficially? What does it even mean?” Lucifer yelled, the anger finally suppressing other, more bothersome emotions.

Chloe took a deep breath. “It means, that I asked your Father to let you go. To let you be your own man, to make your own decisions. And He agreed.”

Lucifer paused, trying to comprehend what she was saying. “What?”

“You don't have to comply with His wishes anymore. You're on your own now. No commands, no control, no God or brothers to tell you what to do.”

Lucifer blinked. And then again. He still wasn't sure he heard her right. That he understood right.

“It wasn't fair to make you do things just because you made a deal to protect me. That's why I asked Him to rescind the deal. And to appoint someone else as Trixie's official guardian angel.”

Lucifer kept staring, the glass forgotten in his hand. So she hadn't annulled the deal to get rid of him, she had done it so he could be free? No... it couldn't be...

“You can go wherever you want to. Do whatever you want to,” Chloe whispered, still playing with her hands nervously. “Be with whomever you want to,” she added and cringed immediately at how lame she sounded.

Lucifer thought briefly he should say something, but his brain was still preoccupied with the fact that he was free. Finally. Incredibly. The only thing he had ever wanted and couldn't get done, this slight human had managed with one talk to his Father.

Chloe gulped. Lucifer looked like he had been hit by a lightning. He just stared at her, not saying anything. An incredulous, somewhat distant look on his face. Chloe wasn't sure at all what was going on in that crazy head of his. Maybe she should just leave and let him process it all. But she didn't want to leave. At least not until she told him everything she had come to tell him.

Lucifer waited for the wave of ecstasy to flood him. Anytime now... He was free – he should feel something, right? The ecstasy to be precise... But it wasn't coming...

Chloe took another deep breath, trying to gather her thoughts and stammered: “If you wanted to... to... be part of Trixie's life... and mine,” she added, gulping, “it would be great. I mean like... you know... be together. For a longer period. Although it would be weird with the aging and not aging thing,” Chloe chuckled nervously then closed her eyes forcefully. She was making a mess of this. “I mean I'm not the one night type...” That wasn't much better... She opened her eyes again and glimpsed at Lucifer. He still looked like he was carved in a stone. And then he frowned.

Lucifer registered Chloe's mouth was moving. What was she saying? It didn't make much sense. Something about aging? And why was she looking so nervous?

“That is... if you wanted to,” Chloe added in a small voice, barely audible.

“Right,” Lucifer said, frowning even more in confusion. Why wasn't he feeling any happiness about his newly gained freedom, yet was feeling this ridiculously happy that Chloe had got it for him? It made no sense. And what had the detective just said? What was he supposed to want?

Chloe's face fell, tears rushed to her eyes and her body stiffened. This wasn't the result she had been hoping for... Lucifer looking at her like she had fallen off the Moon. She nodded slightly, not knowing what else to do. “I'll see you later,” she whispered, not sure if it was even true. She turned on her heel and walked to the elevator, trying hard to stop the tears from falling. She pushed the button with a shaking finger and waited and waited. She brushed a single tear that had escaped despite her mighty efforts. How could she have thought he would want to spend a life time with her? A celestial being, always in a motion, always surrounded by beauties... Oh, yes, she was certainly the catch of the year... And look, she came with a bonus – an eight years old, hyperactive child... Where was the stupid elevator?!

Lucifer blinked. Something had just happened. Well, a lot had happened, but something had happened with Chloe. She'd turned upset all of a sudden. Of course, she had asked him a question. Several actually. But he had been too preoccupied thinking why his freedom wasn't making him happy, but the fact Chloe had given it to him was. And now it seemed despite all his confusion he was getting very unhappy, again, watching Chloe waiting for the elevator, her shoulders slumped. What had she said? Something about being together? Like together together? And was there some other together? If he wanted to? If he WANTED to? What a stupid question... Oh, HELL, and had he really answered her 'right'? He should probably say something. Something clever...

The elevator finally dinged and Chloe breathed out with relief. She was about to get in when she heard Lucifer's voice: “You're not cooking.”

Chloe spun on her heel, almost loosing her balance. “What?”

“You heard me. I'm the one who's cooking. Your food can be dangerous. And considering the amounts your little biter consumes it can proof fatal.” Lucifer nodded his head vigorously, a very serious look on his somewhat flushed face.

“OK,” Chloe whispered, not daring to interpret this just yet.

“And I'm not living in that house of yours. It's too... small.”

Chloe couldn't breath. Was he really negotiating the terms of their being together? Why couldn't the man just for once be more... normal and do things in a more traditional way? Like say 'let's give it a try, baby'.

“And you'll have to wear something more tasteful. I'm not going out with you looking like that,” Lucifer pointed at her very serviceable clothes.

“Lucifer...” Chloe sighed, her heart pumping like mad.

Lucifer paled. Now he'd overdone it. He had insulted her and... “I mean someone like you should wear more fitting clothes. Not this, hiding your beauty. I'll buy you, of course,” he added, a little breathless.

Chloe smiled a little and shook her head. Clothes had never bothered her, but if it was such a deal for Lucifer, then be it. “OK. You can buy me clothes. But you won't make me wear those I won't want to, OK?”

“OK,” Lucifer agreed quickly before she changed her mind.

“And you won't spoil Trixie!”

Lucifer snorted. “Oh, please... like I would ever do that!”

Chloe narrowed her eyes knowingly.

“Fine,” Lucifer breathed. “Something else?”

“Yes,” Chloe said, a determination in her eyes. “You won't sleep with other women. Or men,” she added as an afterthought.

Lucifer shook his head. “Quite demanding, are we?”

Chloe gaped. Was he serious? “OK. Fine, you can sleep with other women, I'll sleep with Dan.”

“ABSOLUTELLY NOT!” Lucifer yelled.

Chloe smiled sweetly, triumphantly.

“Alright, then,” Lucifer agreed, breathing hard, the magnitude of this all slowly coming to him. He gripped the glass in his hand tighter to stop it from shaking. “No other women, men or... demons.”

Chloe bit her lip, blinking rapidly to stop the stupid tears that demanded to be free. They were really doing it. She took a step closer to him, watching him frown. “What?”

She had that look on her face, again... “That look, detective. What does it mean?”

“What look?”

“The one you're giving me right now.”

“Oh, you mean the 'you're incredibly silly and adorable at the same time and I can help myself but love you' look?”

Lucifer dropped the glass. He tried to save it by catching it in midair but was unsuccessful, actually making a fool out of himself, waving his hands like a clown. The glass hit the floor, but by some miracle didn't break. The liquid spilled though.

_Definitely too much_ , Chloe thought. _Should have left the L word out..._

Lucifer looked at Chloe, embarrassed by his reaction. And needing to cover the impact Chloe's words had on him he blurted: “Now, look what you've done!”

Chloe smiled.

“It's been cleaned this morning,” he added very seriously.

Chloe nodded, biting her lip to prevent herself from smiling further. She composed herself. “Any other demand?”

Lucifer thought for a while. “No.”

“A question?”

“Yes, actually I have one.”

Chloe nodded, encouraging him.

“Can we have sex now?”

Chloe burst with laughter. “Yes, yes, we can.”

“Finally,” Lucifer breathed and was in front of Chloe in two long strides. He took her in his arms, not very gently and covered her mouth with his, demanding entrance.

Chloe was still smiling when she winded her arms around Lucifer's neck, returning his wild kiss with her own hungry one. She'd been waiting for this too long.

Lucifer picked her up and started to march through his penthouse. Chloe wrapped her legs around his pelvis, groaning in satisfaction when her center bumped to his obviously growing excitement.

“Bloody hell,” Lucifer growled between the kisses. He had a feeling this was going to be a very quick win win. He certainly didn't feel like taking things slowly. He'd been wanting this – her – for too bloody long. And he needed to be inside her, now, or he would simply explode. Luckily for him, Chloe seemed to share his need. As soon as he laid her on the bed, she started to fumble with his belt, groaning into his mouth in exasperation when her fingers couldn't get it done quickly. She finally managed the belt, then the button and the zip. But before she could have pulled his trousers down, Lucifer moved down her body, mapping it with his hands, making Chloe hiss with pleasure.

“Lucifer,” Chloe breathed impatiently. “I need...”

“Just a minute, love,” he got to her jeans, leaving the top part of her clothing intact. Now it was his turn to fumble with the button and the zip and then pulling the trousers down her legs. “Bloody hell! You're going to wear only dresses from now on,” Lucifer said through his teeth.

Chloe couldn't help herself and laughed. This was so crazy. They were like two starving peasants invited to a feast.

Lucifer finally managed to get rid of her trousers and her panties as well and Chloe's laughter died. He grabbed her ankles, pulling her legs apart, sitting himself between them. He licked his lips, his gaze centered just where her thighs met.

Chloe gulped. She felt like an offering to a pagan god, unable to stop watching him as he was staring at her, fascinated like he was seeing something he had never seen before. She watched him until she couldn't bear it anymore. “Lucifer,” she pleaded.

He looked in her eyes then, his smoldering red, focused on her like there was nothing else in the world. Like there was no world... And then he started to move, his hands leaving her ankles, following her legs up, caressing and leaving goosebumps in their wake.

Chloe's breath hitched when he got to the top of her legs. She thought he would touch her center then, but he didn't. He continued up, covering her body slowly with his, his gaze still focused on her face. She could see the effort he was making not to just take her and have his way with her. She wasn't sure she should thank him or scold him for it. It was getting unbearable.

“Lucifer,” she whispered again and it made the trick. He finally broke, freeing himself from his trousers and leading himself to her entrance. He pushed slowly, painfully, gritting his teeth in concentration.

Chloe panted. Oh she was so ready for him, yet it was a while and the sensation was just overwhelming. It was taking forever, the insistent push stretching her to her limits demanding an adjustment her body wasn't used to. Exciting and painful at the same time. He seemed to get deeper still even though Chloe thought it impossible. She moaned with bliss when he was finally lodged deep inside her. It felt like being whole after a lifetime of missing a piece.

Lucifer laid his forehead on hers and breathed deeply. He closed his eyes and whispered in a hoarse voice: “You alright?”

“Yeah,” Chloe breathed and grabbed his hair, pulling his head closer, demanding a kiss. Lucifer took it as a signal and started to move slowly. The slow rhythm didn't last though. As Chloe wrapped her legs around him, adjusting the angle thus their connection got even deeper, Lucifer was lost. He knew he wouldn't last. Especially with the small noises Chloe was making. He increased the pace, his muscles tightening, his eyes closing. He was climbing quickly, too quickly and too high as well.

“Lucifer,” Chloe gasped and clenched her inner muscles. She was so close, so close... she only needed... but Lucifer seemed to understand, he changed the angle a bit, hitting the small impatient button repeatedly, making Chloe gasped again and then scream as her climax hit her in a full force.

Lucifer let himself go then, falling mercilessly down the precipice with no bottom to be seen. He shook with exhaustion, his taut muscles giving way and he collapsed on top of her partner.

“Chloe,” he said hoarsely, unable to say something more.

Chloe hugged him tightly, loving the feel of his weight on her and the feel of him still inside her.

“You're a terrible hair puller, detective,” Lucifer drawled, lifting his weight off her. “I swear I'll be bald in a couple of years.”

Chloe smiled up at him, caressing his cheek with a thumb.

Lucifer swallowed hard. He felt ecstatic yet little embarrassed. There had been no skill in their lovemaking, just... need. He felt he should justify himself. “It was...”

Chloe smiled knowingly. “Great?” she offered.

“I was going to say 'quick', but 'great' is better.”

Now Chloe laughed. “Yeah, it seemed to be quite... hasty. Actually it was probably the fastest reached orgasm I've ever had.”

“Bloody hell,” Lucifer groaned.

“I'm not complaining!” Chloe reassured him.

“But I am!” Lucifer opposed. He finally pulled himself out of her, making Chloe gasp in protest. “Now I'm going to show you, how it's done properly,” he announced and started to unbutton his wrinkled shirt. Chloe wasn't going to complain. On the contrary, she watched the show Lucifer was giving with a satisfied smile, admiring every inch of his body he revealed to her.

“Seeing something you like, detective?” he teased.

“Yes,” Chloe answered without hesitation. She sat up then, taking care of her shirt and bra, smiling as it was Lucifer's turn to be absorbed in something he liked. He wasn't the shy one though and invited himself to the feast, making Chloe moan again. And as he had promised, he did it properly this time, and the next time as well, leaving them both satiated, but completely exhausted.

They snuggled under the covers, falling asleep immediately.

 

Lucifer woke up with a start. Oh he needed to visit a bathroom quite badly. He was wrapped around Chloe like second blanket, her cute bottom pressed to his groin. He extricated himself carefully, trying not to wake her. He stood next to the bed for a few seconds looking at his detective. He still had difficulty to believe she was his now. He felt like an idiot that he had believed, if only for a couple for hours that she had wanted to get rid of him. How could he have thought that of her?

Lucifer cleared his mind, and hurried to the bathroom before it was too late. He heard a commotion behind the door, fearing he had woken up Chloe. He flushed the toilet and walked out, coming to an abrupt stop. It wasn't Chloe.

“Dad? What are you doing here?” he asked, dreading his Father might have changed His mind and demand his return to Hell or something. He grabbed his bathrobe and put it on quickly, not comfortable being naked in front of his parent.

“I was thinking,” God said.

“Bloody hell.”

“About the freedom your detective required for you. It occurred to me that I didn't give it to you. Not completely, at least.”

“What?”

God reached into his pocket and withdrew something, giving it to Lucifer.

Lucifer took it hesitantly, recognizing the blue locket he had used on Zadkiel. He frowned. “Why are you giving me this?”

“I thought it may be easier for you to live here as one of them.”

Lucifer blinked. One of who?

“But it's up to you. Use it if you want. Or don't.”

Lucifer looked at his Dad, then back at the locket, understanding dawning on him slowly. “But I would have no powers...” To protect Chloe or Trixie, he added in his mind.

God nodded. “Being human isn't easy.”

Lucifer gulped. He looked at Chloe sleeping peacefully in his large bed. Would he dare? He couldn't deny it was intriguing. The possibility to fit somewhere. To belong completely. But who would protect Chloe and Trixie? Well, Robin would. And his other brothers...

“But being human has also advantages,” his Father finished.

Yes, like aging – hadn't Chloe talked about that? And having babies. Lucifer shuddered. No, this wasn't an advantage.

“Decide as you like. I'll be going now.” God smiled warmly and disappeared before Lucifer could say anything else.

“Right,” he drawled, looking at the locket again. Maybe he should wake Chloe and ask what she wanted... No, she would only say it was his decision, because he was free now. Not asking her opinion then. But... what would she want? Well, something like a normal life most likely.

“Bloody hell,” Lucifer sighed. He just couldn't walk around letting all the stupid females fall for him just because of his stupid angelic allure. Or explain to people in twenty or so years that Chloe wasn't his aunt but his partner. He had been an angel his whole life, maybe there was time to try something else... His life was a constant change after all...

He opened the locket before he could loose courage and let it work its magic. He felt his divinity being pulled out of him, feeling like something was being torn out. But it was over quickly and Lucifer realized he didn't feel any different. So he gave it a try. He opened his palm with an intention to create a star, but nothing happened. He tried to unfold his wings, but realized he couldn't feel the appendages anymore. He gulped. He really had done it. He was no angel anymore, no Devil. He was just... Lucifer.

He looked at the locket laying on his palm. Yes, he had done it and he was terrified. More so when the locket started to vanish, disappearing in a thin air.

Lucifer returned to the bed, lying down on his back. Chloe stirred and turned to him, laying her head on his chest with a sigh. “Everything alright?” she breathed, half asleep.

“Yes,” Lucifer rasped, staring wide eyed at the ceiling. What had he done? Why had he done it? Oh yes, because... “I believe I love you, detective.”

Chloe chuckled, snuggling closer to him. “I know.”

Lucifer snorted. “Right.”

The only answer was a gentle snore. He looked down at the woman sleeping so trustingly in his arms and he smiled. Yes, he was terrified. He had no idea what he was getting into and there was certainly a lot that could go wrong. But he had a feeling neither he or Chloe would be at the receiving end of any bad luck. He might be mortal now, but he was still God's favorite son.

 

THE END

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope it wasn't too lame... thank you for reading. I hope you enjoyed it at least as much as I enjoyed writing it.


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